Runs in the family
by webeonceing13
Summary: Ever since the Snow Queen was defeated and Rumple hasn't been seen, things go back to normal in Storybrooke. Just a bit of Charming family fluff in the 6 week period we never saw. The Charming's find out they have a bit in common with one another.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to my first little fic. I hope you enjoy! Please review, thanks.**

Snow sighs loudly at the baby in her arms as she hears the stomping of her husband and daughter running up the hallway stairs. "It's always a race between the two of them, huh Neal?" The baby just looks up at his mother with a blank face and some drool coming out of his mouth.

While she moves to the kitchen to grab a napkin to wipe the drool from her sons chin the door to the loft flings open to reveal her very sweaty husband and daughter each bent over panting for air. Snow found it cute that they both wore matching t-shirts that say 'Storybrooke Sheriff's Department' on them.

"I totally beat you today, old man!" Emma exclaimed as she started to make her way to the fridge for some cold water, very out of breath. "Uh huh. No way, you ate my dust the entire run this morning, princess" David stated back while shutting the front door, also huffing a bit.

"Oh please, you were struggling to keep up with my pace the entire time" his daughter replied handing him a bottle of water with a smirk, trying to catch her breath.

He turned his attention toward his wife and son. "Snow who came in first?" David asked while leaning in for a kiss. She quickly pushed him away giving him a 'you stink' face then proceeded, "I wasn't paying attention, but I will tell you two to be lighter on your feet. It's early when you two go for your morning run and we have neighbors" she lightly scolded.

"What are they going to do, send a noise complaint to the sheriff's office?" Emma joked while going upstairs to her room. David gave a small chuckle while Snow lightly slapped his chest. He tried again to kiss his wife, but yet again she ducked out of the way saying "Shower first, David. You reek!" At this their son gave an agreeing gurgle.

Taking that as a sign David began to walk to his room when he saw his daughter making her way downstairs in her towel. "Always coming in last today, huh father?" Emma said, sticking out her tongue and closing the bathroom door. "Emma, please don't take too long today. I don't want to be late for work two days in a row because you take such long showers"

He heard no reply, but the shower was turned on and he heard the curtain close. He hoped she wouldn't take forever, she really held up to her title of princess when it came to the two of them getting ready in the morning. He usually let her shower first while he got breakfast started, but lately she had been taking forever and it really slowed his morning routine down. While she got dressed and did her hair, he would shower while his wife finished up the mornings meal for them.

Emma emerged from the bathroom just as the bacon was finished cooking and the eggs were put in the pan to be scrambled. David noticed his daughter and dramatically sighed and said "Well finally! I thought I was going to have to come in and save you from almost drowning…again", he finished with a wink.

"It was one time! I would've been fine if that piece of the ship didn't hit me in the head" Emma remarked while snatching a piece of bacon and heading upstairs to get ready for work.

"What was one time?" Snow asked, emerging from their bedroom when she just laid a content Neal down. She made her way over to her husband, who still hasn't showered, and took the spatula out of his hand to continue making breakfast.

"Emma nearly drowning back in Neverland" Charming said as he walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower since his daughter decided to be slow again this morning. As he was turning the shower on and taking his shirt off he heard his wife yell "Emma, don't you dare ever jump off of a ship again!" While Emma argued back saying "I was just trying to prove a point! I'm fine!"

David got into the shower and began to wash his hair while his wife and daughter were still yelling at one another. "I don't care what you were trying to prove, you will never do that again, understood?" Snow yelled with a tone that meant not to say anything back.

After a few more minutes of the warm water running over his body, David got out of the shower and got dressed before he joined the rest of his family for breakfast. When he emerged from the bathroom he saw his daughter sneak another piece of bacon while Snow's back was turned. He lightly chuckled to himself thinking of how many sweets she would've snuck from the palace kitchen without Snow knowing.

When he joined Emma at the table she looked up him, with the best glare she had. "Thanks for bringing that whole ordeal up again. Pretty sure she'll never let me near water again" she said nodding toward her mother who was bringing over a stack of pancakes.

"Chocolate chip are on the bottom, Emma. And you're lucky you are too old for me to ground" Snow added with her best glare at her daughter. Emma didn't reply, but she sheepishly reached for her chocolate chip pancakes.

The rest of breakfast went by quietly, only being interrupted by the young prince making noise from where he sat in his high chair at the table. Smiling at her son, Snow turned to David and said "Remember we have his doctor appointment tomorrow morning at 8:30."

David looked a little confused at first but replied to his wife "Oh that's right, I almost forgot. Emma, I'll be a little late coming to the station tomorrow. You think you can manage a bit without me?"

Emma gave her father a small smile, "I think I can manage unlocking the door and doing some paperwork alone, but thanks for the concern. Just bring me a hot chocolate when you come in pretty please."

"Of course, anything for you, princess." Her father replied with a wink. Emma rolled her eyes while her mother gave a smile at the interaction between father and daughter. Though no one openly admitted it, they all loved these small nice moments as a family. After all they've been through it was a great feeling to be together and try to move on from the past that plagued them.

Realizing the time, Emma got up from her seat first and made her way over to the sink to put her dishes away. "Dad, you better hurry up or we'll be late for work again."

"Oh you're right, my eating breakfast is what slows us down in the morning. My bad, Emma" Charming replied with as much sarcasm as he could. He followed his daughter with his plate into the kitchen as well.

Snow turned her head to tell them to rinse the syrup off of their plates when she saw Emma limping slightly. "Emma, are you okay?" Snow asked with as much concern in her voice as there was in her eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine, why?" Emma replied a bit confused at her mother's question and concern.

"You're limping a bit. Did you injure yourself on your run today? Charming weren't you looking out for her?" Snow was talking so fast and her tone was growing louder and sterner. David looked just as concerned as his wife did, along with some confusion at her accusation.

"She didn't fall or anything, not that I saw anyway. Emma, what's hurt?" David asked now getting closer to his daughter, looking her up and down for any sign of injury.

"Guys relax, I'm fine. My muscles are just a bit tight and sore, I didn't stretch that much today. Geeze. We're still on week one of running, I haven't adjusted to running frequently again." Emma was now making her way toward the door trying to dodge her parents to make sure they wouldn't see that she was lying.

In high school she ran track. It kept her busy and delayed her return back to her current, and awful, foster homes. It was a nice escape for her, to just run off her anger and belong somewhere. Emma was a natural runner. Like most runners, she would suffer from shin splints. One time it was so bad it developed into a stress fracture. She was very used to the pain in her shin, but that doesn't mean her parents wouldn't go crazy trying to take care of her.

"Alright, just make sure you stretch more tomorrow, and maybe tonight when you get home. Have a great day at work sweetie." Snow said aloud to her daughter, who was putting on her light brown leather jacket. She then turned to her husband and said a bit softer "Watch her please, it seems like more than just a sore muscle." She leaned in and kissed her husband before he left for work.

"Of course, Snow. I'll see you later. I love you" Charming said with his signature grin that never failed to make his wife smile.

**OUAT**

It was a slow day at the station. Not much has been going on since Elsa and the Snow Queen left. Since no one wielding ice powers was in Storybrooke everyone relaxed a little bit over the past week and a half. There has been no sign of Gold ever since Belle talked to him and forced him over the town line. One would say that Storybrooke was finally peaceful and quiet, but no one would say that out loud in fear of jinxing the calmness that surrounded them.

The weather was finally warming up and Emma didn't have to worry about being trapped in another ice cave. Her parents were even more over protective of her after that. Snow asked her multiple times a day if she was warm enough and always made sure she wore layers. David took to making sure he had extra blankets in the cruiser and the station at all times after that little mishap.

Both father and daughter were doing some final paper work left over from the destruction of the ice wall when David looked up to see Emma massaging her right shin and wincing slightly. "Everything okay over there, Em?"

"Huh? Yeah everything is fine" Emma said now putting her leg down and returning to her paper work. Charming, being her father, wasn't buying it. He sent a quick text to Snow to keep her in the loop.

 _Snow, she keeps massaging her right shin and wincing. I think that's what's bothering her-C_

 _Hmm, if it's her shin she'll probably have shin splints. I used to get them bad back in the forest.-S_

 _Oh yeah that's right. You'd non-stop complain. Remember when you made me carry you?-C_

 _Watch it, that is neither here nor there! I'll stop by the drug store on the way home from work and pick up a few things, make sure she isn't walking around much-S_

 _Anything for you sweetheart ;)-C_

 _Mmhmm, that's what I thought. Love you-S_

 _Love you too, see you later 3-C_

"If you're going to keep texting and not do work can we at least go to Granny's for lunch? I've been dying for a grilled cheese all day" Emma said to her father with a little whine at the end. Charming just laughed and grabbed the keys to the cruiser and looped his arm around Emma's as they strode out of the station.

**OUAT**

After a nice filling lunch the pair made their way back to the station to finish up the work day. Emma hated paperwork more than anything. She did pretty much whatever she could to get it done fast, but today she just lacked that motivation. "Hey dad, let's extend our run tomorrow. We've been going pretty well these past few days." Emma stated wanting to focus on anything but the file in front of her.

Charming looked up at his daughter and paused for a moment. She had a point, he himself was going to suggest a longer route in the woods, but Snow would kill him making her run longer with her shin splints. "Uhh, you really want to extend the route? It's only been a week, we don't want to get to ahead of ourselves."

"What's the matter, dad? Can't handle another mile in the morning? Old age catching up to you?" Emma said from her office with a smirk on her face.

Not wanting to back down from a challenge with his daughter Charming agreed "Okay fine, we'll add another mile on in the woods. But remember I have your brother's appointment tomorrow morning so we'll add it on Thursday. Sound good?"

"Don't want me getting a head start and kicking your ass?" Emma challenged with a raised eyebrow at her father.

"No, that's not it. You know you have a bad sense of direction in the woods and I'd rather not have you add a mile by yourself and end up lost" David tried to say with a softer, caring tone. Emma on the other hand didn't take it as parent concern. She snapped back "My sense of direction is just fine, thank you very much!"

David decided to drop the subject and finish up the day's work. Thankfully, so did Emma.

**OUAT**

On the drive home David remembered that Snow was most likely going to get Emma to tell them the truth about her shin. Ever since he tried to tell Emma to wait for him to add a mile she was pretty quiet.

As the pair made it to the front door, Emma took her keys out and unlocked the door. Snow was in the kitchen already preparing dinner for the family. Without turning around she called out "Emma, couch."

Emma looked at her father with a confused look the followed with "Hey mom, I had a great day at work thanks for asking. How was yours?"

Her mother finally turned around holding an ice pack wrapped in a hand towel. "Couch, now. And take off your boots." Emma complied with her mother's request. After taking her jacket and boots off she skeptically made her way to the couch. Once she sat down her mother continued to boss her around without explanation. "Sit back and put your leg up, please."

"Uhh, did something happen that I don't know about? I'm fine" Emma crossed her arms over her chest, holding her ground from her clearly over protective mother.

"You're not fine, Emma. Your shin needs ice and rest in order to recover and to prevent a stress fracture" Snow said glaring at her daughter who was still sitting with her arms crossed and not laying back as instructed.

"What, have you been talking to Whale?" Her father flinched at that remark. "I don't have shin splints, I just didn't stretch that much today. Seriously, I'm fine" Emma said for what felt like the millionth time, with a nice roll of her eyes.

"Yes you do. You definitely had them back in Neverland with all that running around in the jungle. Don't think we didn't notice you slightly limping and always massaging your shin when we rested. You aren't as slick as you think you are when it comes to your father and I, isn't that right Charming?" Snow said with a pointed look at her husband meaning to back her up on this.

"Of course, honey. Emma, we're your parents, you can't hide much from us. Now just lay back and let us take care of you, okay?" David said with a soft, caring look at his daughter.

"You guys are being ridiculous today. You read way too much into things. Like I've said for the hundredth time, it's just a sore muscle. I'm-"Before Emma could finish her sentence her mother cut her off.

"Don't you dare say the word fine again. You aren't fine. But if you really think so then please jump up and down on your right leg please. Prove me wrong" Snow said backing away and giving her daughter some space.

"Seriously? I don't need to prove anything" Emma said a bit aggravated at her mother.

"Come on, if you're so 'fine' then it'll be no problem" Snow quickly replied with a smirk at her incredibly stubborn daughter. Emma sighed, then got up from the couch. After three shaky jumps on her leg, Emma winced and sucked in a hard breath through gritted teeth. "Hmm, just as I thought. Lay back, Emma."

Feeling a bit defeated, and in a bit of pain, Emma sat back and put her leg up as her mother propped up some pillows before putting the ice on her daughter's leg. Emma, not wanting to seem vulnerable, sarcastically asked "What, you're going to ice me but not give me-"Emma was once again interrupted by her mother, who was bringing over a glass of water with two brown tablets.

"You were saying?" Snow asked in a lightly mocking tone. Emma just reached for the glass and tablets with a shy but grateful smile. Snow waited until she swallowed both tablets before returning to the kitchen to finish dinner.

David, throughout the little jump up and down debacle, went and got his son and was now playing with some toys on the floor with him. He looked up and saw his daughter just staring at the ceiling. Part of him still felt guilty for what happened all those years ago. He lost out on her childhood, and there was no way of getting it back. Seeing his baby boy reminded him of his failure with Emma every so often.

That gnawing feeling in his stomach caused him to pick up his son and cross the room to go sit in the empty chair in the living room next to his daughter. Sitting his son on his lap, facing Emma, Charming said in a cooing voice "Aww Neal, did Emma get a boo boo?"

The small prince just sat there staring at his sister, while Emma gave her father a horrified look. "You did not just say that" Emma replied, sighing and returning her gaze to the ceiling above her.

Seeing an opportunity Charming smiled to himself then began in an even more ridiculous voice "Neal, did we upset little Emmy over there?" unable to hide his laughter, David started laughing genuinely out loud.

Before he knew it Emma had sat up and grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head with it, being mindful of her little brother. "That's it, you've crossed a line. Emmy? Really?!" she gave her father her best glare.

He quickly put his son down in his high chair at the dinner table and grabbed another pillow, preparing to duel with his daughter. "Yes, Emmy. What you don't like it?" Charming tried his best not to laugh this time. He knew there was no way in hell she would ever want to be called that. He had hoped having Neal with him would soften her up, he was wrong.

She came at him swinging the pillow forcefully, David did his best to dodge it while trying to hit her with his pillow. The two of them were going at it hitting one another with pillows until Snow came barging in yelling "Emma Swan! You have five seconds to get back on that couch and ice your shin. Your twenty minutes isn't up yet" Snow said with a glare at her daughter. Now turning a pointed look on her husband, she finished her scolding. "David, how dare you encourage this when you know she's hurt? I swear you two are more alike than what it's good for."

David didn't reply to his wife, but made his way back over to the empty chair next to his daughter with his son in his arms. "Thanks a lot, Emma." Charming said in a mocking, defeated voice.

"Really? You started all of this, how is it my fault?" Emma replied in a somewhat offended tone. To this David just chuckled.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while they waited for dinner to be ready. Snow was making homemade mac and cheese tonight, Emma's favorite. Emma was getting very impatient just sitting there not being able to move much. "Hey, is dinner almost ready?" she asked aloud to her mother in the kitchen.

"Emma, would you just relax. You still have to ice for another seven minutes" Emma dramatically sighed at the thought of sitting on the couch for another seven minutes with an empty stomach.

"This sucks" Emma said while crossing her arms across her chest and throwing her head back to stare at the ceiling once again.

"Hey, watch your language there, missy. There are little ears in the room" Charming said while covering the young prince's ears for dramatic effect.

"Oh come on, he can't understand me, or repeat me for that matter" Emma said now turning a bit to face her father and brother on the chair next to her. Her brother's eyes were blue like her father's and looking curiously into her green eyes that resembled her mothers.

To pass the time she had remaining on the couch, Emma started making funny faces at her little brother trying to get him to laugh. She crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, puffed out her cheeks, and scrunched up her face. Nothing, he didn't laugh he just gurgled a bit and waved his arms. "Oh come on squirt, I'm giving you gold here" Emma said a bit defeated at her brother's lack of response.

David just laughed at his daughter's cuteness towards her little brother. He was very glad that Emma wanted to bond with him and no resent him. David couldn't be happier that his family was finally together after all they've been through.

Snow interrupted his reverie exclaiming "Dinner time. Emma put the ice pack back in the freezer please, and Charming put him in his high chair." Emma grumbled something inaudible under her breath as she made her way to the kitchen.

"How are you feeling, Emma?" her mother asked with slight concern in her voice.

"I'm-"Emma was about to finish her signature phrase, but the look on her mother's face told her that wouldn't be a good idea at the moment. "It's cold, can't really feel much at the moment. I'm okay though, really, this isn't my first time dealing with this."

David, now a bit curious at his daughter's statement, asked "Did this used to happen when you were younger?"

Snow was bringing over the bug bowl of mac and cheese for the family when she heard her husband's question. She turned her attention toward her daughter awaiting a reply.

"Yeah, I used to run track in high school. I'd always get them towards the beginning of each season. The trainer at the high school always told me to get a compression sleeve, but I didn't think my foster parents at the time wanted to waste their money on that so I just pushed through it." Emma explained while piling a generous helping of her mother's cooking on her plate.

"I didn't know you ran track" David said wanting to know more about his daughter's past.

"Yeah, I was always good at running" Emma replied with a bit of a smirk at the double meaning behind the phrase.

Her mother caught on giving a small smile at her daughter's cleverness. "Well, unlike your foster parents, I went out and already got you a compression sleeve that you can wear from now on." Snow said with a bit of pride at the fact that she could provide something those awful people couldn't all those years ago.

"Oh, thank you, but I'll be fine. I don't need to wear one" Emma said a bit embarrassed. She knew wearing one would bring attention to it more and she was not having other people question her when she went out on her runs in the morning.

"Emma, you'll wear it or you won't be running with your father" Snow said in her best 'mom voice'.

Emma looked a bit taken back at this "Wait, seriously?" was her best response.

"I'm being very serious, Emma. Just please wear it, it'll help" Her mother replied in a softer tone.

Knowing at arguing with her parents wouldn't get her anywhere she reluctantly agreed "Fine, I'll wear it. Thank you" Emma was now digging into her dinner.

The rest of the night was very quiet in the Charming household. They watched a random movie that was on that no one knew what was going on. The young prince went to bed without a fuss. A few episodes of 'Friends' later and Emma retired to her upstairs room for the evening. "Goodnight guys, see you in the morning" Emma said as she hugged both of her parents. Her father kissed her forehead and her mother cupped her cheek. After that Snow and David also went into their room for the night.

**OUAT**

The next morning rolled around and Emma made her way downstairs already in her running gear. "Morning guys, good luck at his appointment later" she said as she was about to run out the door.

"Emma wait!" her mother called out from her room. "Don't forget the compression sleeve!"

As tempted as she was to just keep going out the front door she knew her mother wouldn't be please, at all. With a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes Emma turned around and walked toward her mother who was holding out the box containing the sleeve.

Emma took the box with a small smile and sat down at the dinner table and opened it and put it on. "I figured you'd like the black sleeve rather than the bright red that they had. Less attention drawing" her mother said to her as her daughter put the sleeve on her right leg.

"Thank you, mom. Alright now I'm off. See you at the station, dad" Emma called over her shoulder as she was heading out the door.

"Have a good run, and be careful. If your shin hurts too much just stop and walk home, okay?" David said to his daughter before she left.

"I'll be fine guys, a quick 2 mile run won't kill me" Emma said as she finally left the apartment.

She began their usual route which included a walk down Main Street, past Granny's and towards the woods. Her and her father usually started off in the woods then made their way to the beach for the final half mile of their run. Once she made it to the edge of the woods she put in her headphones and went to her running playlist on her iPod classic. She's had this thing forever, it's one of the first things she bought herself when she had a steady job after her stint in prison.

Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" started to flow into her ears as she began to run. A mile into her run and her shin was feeling good. _Huh, mom was right this feels much better. I'll just add that extra mile today._ At that she veered left off the path instead of the typical right turn.

After another five upbeat and fast paced songs Emma was still in the woods. She began to slow down a bit as her shin was beginning to hurt and her chest was getting a bit tight. _I have to be near the beach, right? It should be over there, or is it over there._

Now dropping her pace to a walk, Emma was growing a bit nervous that she seemed to be still deep in the woods with no signs of the ocean. _Oh no. Dad was right, I don't know these woods at all._ That was it, she was officially lost. Putting her hands on her hips and turning in circles looking for some familiarity, Emma heaved a heavy sigh "Really?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for the follows, favs, and reviews on the first chapter. it means a lot. Here's the second chapter! I'll be on vacation next week so i hope this holds you over for a bit. if anyone has suggestions on where they want to see this story go feel free to let me know, i'm open to suggestions. I hope you enjoy!**

It was 9:15 AM by the time Snow and David were done with little Neal's appointment. "Huh, that went faster than I expected. You did a great job there, buddy" Charming said smiling down at his son in his car seat.

"Would you like for me to drop you off at the station, or do you need to stop at home first?" Snow asked her husband who had just finished buckling their son into the station wagon.

"I need to go home first, I'm taking my truck to work since our little princess requested hot chocolate when I go into work today" Charming said with a chuckle.

"You spoil that girl, you know that right?" Snow said getting into the driver's seat and starting the car.

"Oh come on, Snow. I do not spoil her that much" David said to his wife as he buckled his seat belt.

"Charming, you're wrapped around her finger. A few times may I add" His wife replied now driving the car way from doctor's office.

"Well do you blame me? She's our little girl and she's finally opening up to us. How could I ever say no to her?" David said in a bit of a sad tone thinking about how much of her life they lost out on. Of course he would do whatever he could to make her happy, he owed her at the very least that.

It was a little bit before 9:30 AM by the time the Charming's pulled up to their house. Snow noticed something was off right away. "Charming, doesn't the station open at 9?"

Charming looked up at his wife and replied "Yeah, why?"

Pointing out Emma's yellow bug to her husband Snow said "Then why is her bug still here? She's way too lazy to walk to work."

"Maybe she's having a slow morning after her run since we aren't there to rush her out the door" David said trying to think of reasons why her car was still here when it should be at the station. "I'm going to go check the apartment real quick. You take care of Neal" He said getting a little nervous at the situation.

Snow just nodded and David went quickly into their apartment. "Emma? Are you still here?" He was looking around for any signs of his daughter. He saw that her boots were still by the front door. That wasn't a good sign. He went up into her room and didn't see her running shoes or her towel on the floor like he usually did when they ran.

David made his way back downstairs where his wife was walking in carrying their son. "Is she here?" Snow asked in a concerned voice.

"No, I don't think she's come back from her run yet. Her boots are still by the door" David said with a bit of panic in his voice.

"What? She left over an hour ago! Where is she, David?" Snow said, the panic also starting to grow in her.

Going over possible scenarios in his head, only one seemed to make sense. Looking as though the lightbulb went off above his head he quietly said "She wouldn't."

"She wouldn't what, David?" Snow said in a harder tone, wanting answers as to where her only daughter is.

"She mentioned yesterday extending the route we run and I told her to wait for me because she has a God awful sense of direction out there. She didn't seem to please I doubted her in any way. She's probably still in the woods." David explained as he was looking for the keys to his truck.

"Wait, you think Emma is lost in the woods? She's been gone for over an hour, David." Snow began pacing thinking of all the awful scenarios her mind could come up with. "What if George finds her and takes her? What if another freak snow storm comes in? It was pretty chilly outside this morning. What if another enemy of ours from the Enchanted Forest comes back and gets to her? What if she fell into another portal? David, she isn't armed what if-"Charming interrupted her fast paced worries and pulled his wife into a hug.

"Snow, she's a tough girl. No one is after her. She's fine, probably freaking out a little but she is okay. I'll go find her. Stay here in case she miraculously finds her way out of the woods, okay?" Charming said as he pulled away from his wife and made his way out the door.

"Find her, Charming!" Snow said as she took Neal out of his carrier and sat down on the couch looking out the window for any sign of her blonde daughter.

"I always will." Was all Charming said as he dashed out the door to his truck. _Oh I cannot wait to say I told you so to that girl._ Charming thought as he got into his truck and drove towards the edge of the woods.

**OUAT**

"How big is this damn forest? How big is Storybrooke for that matter?" Emma said aloud as she felt like she has been walking in circles forever. What a sight this should be. The sheriff of Storybrooke, lost in the woods waiting for her dad, or anyone for that matter, to come and find her. _We need better trail markers out here. How long have I been out here?_ Emma thought as she checked her iPod. 9:40 AM. _I have been out here for over an hour. What the hell? How is that possible?_

Her shin felt like it was going to explode at any moment. She found a fallen tree and decided it would be best to just sit for a moment and regroup her thoughts, and give her shin a break for that matter. _He's going to kill me. I should've listened to him. Why do these things happen to me?_ Emma thought while massaging her shin.

She could feel it staring to get a little colder and all she had on was a t-shirt and shorts. _Please not again, no more freak magical snow storms, please. I don't want to actually freeze to death this time._ She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

 _I'll just sit her for a bit. Dad will find me, he'll always find me._ Emma put her head down on her knees and closed her eyes and let the music still playing relax her.

**OUAT**

Charming was now in the woods and followed their usual running route until it forked. Thinking like Emma would he assumed that if she wished to add a mile she probably went left instead of their typical right. _Oh she will never hear the last of this when I find her._ He picked his pace up to a light jog and began to yell her name, hoping that she was close and could hear him.

After another ten minutes jogging around taking a route he thought she would be on he finally saw a blonde girl curled up on a log, wearing a black sleeve on her right leg. _Oh thank goodness._ He thought as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. She was safe.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here, the almighty navigator. Taking a rest from that extra mile you were dying to run?" Charming said walking toward his daughter who looked up at him with relief in her eyes.

Without thinking about it Emma stood up and ran over and hugged her father. Both were taken by surprise by her actions. She whispered a thank you into his ear and released from the hug.

"Hey dad! How'd baby bros appointment go?" Emma asked, wanting to avoid the subject of her getting lost in the woods.

"Oh no, you can't just brush this off, Emma. What did I tell you yesterday?" Charming said a bit sternly crossing his arms over his chest.

"In my defense I'm an adult and I can handle myself" Emma said copying her father's stance. Anyone who saw the Charming family could tell that Emma took mostly after her father, especially her stubbornness.

"Oh really? Then why are you still out here in the woods? Your mother and I returned home to find your car still there. Do you have any idea how worried we were? Your mother is probably still pacing the apartment coming up with a million scenarios on what happened to you. She's convinced you fell into another portal. I know you're grown up, but sometimes you really need to listen to us as your parents, understand?" Charming said still standing his ground with his arms over his chest.

Emma looked down at the ground, unable to meet her upset father's eyes. "Yeah, I understand. I'm sorry."

Charming dropped his arms and pulled his daughter into a hug. "You had me worried sick, kiddo. Please _never_ do that to me again."

"I'll try not to, dad" Emma said with a bit of a laugh. She was really touched at how concerned her parents were, but this was still a bit foreign to her. She tended to laugh off uncomfortable situations.

"Well, as your father I think it's about high time I finally got to say this. I told you so!" David said to his daughter with his signature Charming grin.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Can we go home now? I really need to shower, and eat!" Emma said staring to walk in one direction in the woods.

"Uhh, Emma? The car is that way" David said, pointing in the complete opposite direction Emma was going. Emma just rolled her eyes and walked in the direction her father had just pointed out.

As they were walking David noticed that she was limping again, a bit worse than yesterday. Doing something he always wished her could do as a father, he cut Emma off and turned his back to her crouching down a bit. "Hop on."

"Seriously? I'm good, thanks" Emma said trying to go around her father.

"Emma, come on. Your shin must be killing you. Just take the piggy back ride" Charming said stopping his daughter.

"Alright, fine" Emma said hopping onto her father's back. The pair made their way out of the forest and towards her father's truck. Emma was very relieved to be out of there and somewhere more familiar to her. David let Emma down when they made it to his car and unlocked it.

Once safely inside the vehicle David got his phone out to call his still very worried wife. "Hey Snow. Yeah I found her. Yes, she's okay. Yeah, she was in the woods, just like I said. Yes, I told her. Don't worry, she knows. Okay, we're coming back now. Love you too."

Emma avoided making contact with her father throughout his call, knowing her mother would definitely have a few words to say to her once they returned back to the apartment.

David started to laugh. "And you think I'm bad" was all he had to say before he turned the car on and pulled onto the road.

**OUAT**

The rest of the car ride home went by quietly. Emma was getting anxious as to what her mother would say to her. Yes, she probably should've waited for her father to add that other mile, but she was 29 years old. She doesn't need her parents babying her, they have a new one if they want to do that.

They finally made it back to the apartment and as David and Emma were ascending the stairs, David walked behind her poking her in the back singing the _Jaws_ theme. "Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun." He couldn't help but laugh, man he was hilarious today.

"Would you quit it?" Emma said turning and giving her father her signature glare. Catching on to her anxiety of facing her mother, David reigned in his mocking and put a supportive hand on the small of her back. He swore he felt Emma relax a little at his touch.

As they made it to their front door, it swung open revealing a relieved Snow. "Oh thank goodness you're alright, Emma." She said wrapping her daughter in a tight hug. "Don't you _dare_ ever do that to us again! Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Emma didn't say anything to this, she just hugged her mother tighter. It was nice to finally have someone who cared.

**OUAT**

After a long relaxing shower, Emma emerged from the bathroom to find her parents making breakfast. "Look who's finally out of the shower. I thought you got _lost_ in there" Charming said trying really hard to stifle his laughter.

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious" Emma said with a roll of her eyes as she walked up to her room to get ready for the rest of her day.

Snow gave Charming a slap to the chest before returning to making breakfast for her daughter. "Will you go easy on her, she's had a long morning."

Suddenly turning serious, David turned to his wife and began to speak in a soft but stern tone "No I will not go easy on her, Snow. She disobeyed me and put herself in danger. We've almost lost her so many times before, between both curses, Neverland, the ice cave last month, and I almost lost you both when you went to the Enchanted Forest. That's my little girl and it's my job to protect her. I was terrified searching the woods for her earlier thinking that I wouldn't find her, thinking all your 'what if's' were actualities. I don't ever want to feel that way again, Snow." Halfway through his speech he hugged his wife and was holding onto her tight, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Once he finished his emotional monologue he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and his wife from behind. "I'm so sorry you guys, I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean for you guys to think those things. But I'm okay, I'm right here" Emma said while hugging both of her parents. She heard the whole thing from the loft and felt guilty for putting her parents through that even though she didn't think it was that big of a deal. They were scarred from what had happened in the past, just as Emma was. They were different from anyone in her past. They cared about her. They were her parents.

**OUAT**

By 11 AM the Storybrooke sheriff's station was open for the day. David and Emma spent the majority of the day doing the last of the paperwork from the ice wall. They were determined to finish it all today and to have that incident behind them once and for all. The weather in Storybrooke began to get cold as fall was in full swing. Figures they missed the last of the warm weather of summer due to the Snow Queen.

They got a couple of calls on the non-emergency line asking about the weather and if it was magic related. Both Emma and David did their best to alleviate any concerns the citizens of Storybrooke had. Toward the end of their work day Emma switched the calls over to her cell phone as her and her father went to patrol the town.

Ever since the Wicked Witch came to town they liked to go out and patrol the town a few times a week to make sure everything was as normal as normal could be for them. David was driving the cruiser after making another "You might get lost" joke, earning him a punch to the arm and a deadly eye roll from his clearly unamused daughter.

"You know that joke is going to get old really quick" Emma said to her father as he was pulling off of Main Street.

"Hmm, are you sure? I just think the joke is _lost_ on you" David replied to his daughter trying his best to not burst out laughing.

"You are such a dad with your dad jokes" Emma said after giving her father an unamused look and a sigh. David was just very pleased to hear his daughter acknowledge his relation to her with such ease. He never thought they'd be this close when the curse first broke. She was so closed off and guarded, and definitely didn't like the David Nolan that broke her roommate's heart at the time. It filled his heart to hear his little girl call him 'dad'.

They finished making their rounds on patrol and locked up the station before going home for a family dinner.

**OUAT**

When Emma and David entered the apartment their noses were filled with the smell of homemade chicken broccoli Alfredo. "Oh that smells amazing, mom" Emma said shrugging off her leather jacket and taking off her boots.

"There you two are, I thought you might've gotten _lost_ on your way home" Snow said with a smile at her daughter. Charming went over and kissed his wife, giving her a high five in the process.

"Go ahead, team up on me why don't you!" Emma exclaimed making her way to the couch to sit down before dinner.

She heard the bathroom door open and she momentarily got confused as Killian made his way into the living room. "Hello, love. I heard you had quite the adventure this morning" he said with a wink and a raised eyebrow as he made his way over to her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" Emma said, still confused as to why her pirate was at her house. She hasn't talked to him yet today.

"Your mother invited me. Said you might need some help with your navigational skills, and who better to ask than the best pirate to ever grace the seven seas." Killian said wrapping his Swan in a hug.

"I'm glad we are all getting a good laugh out of this, really" Emma said crossing her arms over her chest, getting a mean look in her eyes.

"Oh, Emma. Lighten up a bit, we're just having a good laugh. Something we never do that often" Snow said setting the table for dinner.

"Whatever" was all Emma said before getting up and grabbing a drink out of the fridge for herself and Killian.

**OUAT**

After they ate dinner Snow and Charming went for a walk with their son and gave Emma and Killian some privacy. The pair was watching _Law Abiding Citizen_ on the small television in the living room. Emma had seen this movie a dozen times when she lived in New York. It was one of her and Henry's go to 'sick day' movies to watch. Killian was enthralled by the concept of the movie. How someone could just go around doing that and outsmarting the cops, it reminded him of his pirate days.

"You ever run into someone like this in your old job, Swan?" Killian asked hoping for a 'no' to his curious question.

"Nope, no one was ever that psychotic. At least not that I knew of. I just delivered them, got my money, and then went home" Emma said with a bit of a shrug.

She was getting very tired. She ran a lot this morning, unintentionally of course, and then spent more energy walking around then finally going to work. She leaned her head on Killian's shoulder and closed her eyes while the movie kept playing.

Her parents came back from their stroll with the young prince and saw their daughter sleeping on her pirate. "Looks like someone _lost_ their battle with sleep" David said with a chuckle. Snow just rolled her eyes as she carried her sleeping son to his crib.

David was cleaning up the kitchen and bit and helping his wife with the lunches for the following day, when they heard the music for the credits playing. "She should really go up to bed, she's had a long day" Snow said looking over at her daughter, still very much asleep on Killian who was looking at her lovingly.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll go get our princess up to bed" David said making his way over to Emma. He crouched down in front of her giving Killian a little smile before he shook her shoulder. "Emma, wake up. Time to go up to bed"

"No, movie isn't over" His daughter mumbled. Her voice was thick with sleep and she barely moved a muscle.

"Love, the movie already ended. Bloody guy got burned to death. Terrible way to go" Killian said trying to get her to sit up.

Emma sat up a little and rubbed her eyes, taking in her surrounds for a moment. She felt physically and somewhat emotionally exhausted. Her legs were very sore and she felt a slight ache forming behind her eyes. She stood up and made her way to the bathroom to take her contacts out, they were really making her eyes ache tonight.

Emerging from the bathroom, very much blind at this point, she slowly made her way over to Killian who was waiting by the front door. "Goodnight, love. Get some sleep and try not to get lost tomorrow" Killian said leaning in to kiss Emma.

Emma returned the kiss, a bit deeper, before pulling away. "Goodnight, Killian. I'll see you tomorrow"

Shutting the door and turning around, she missed her father's disgusted face at his daughter kissing the pirate. Attempting to walk towards her parents to hug them goodnight, she hit her hip off the dining room table. "Damnit!"

"Emma, where are your glasses?" Her mother asked coming over to guide her fuzzed vision daughter.

"At the station, in a box filled with old memories. I haven't worn glasses since I got contacts" At this, Snow realized that she indeed never saw her wear glasses.

"Really? That can't be good for your eyes honey. What do you do if you run out of contacts?" Her mother inquired.

"I've never had that problem before, so beats me. Goodnight guys, I'll see you in the morning" Emma said hugging her mother than slowly making her way over to her father. "Goodnight, Emma" Both her parents said in unison.

Emma walked over to the loft stairs and tripped a couple of times on her way up to her room. Her parents could hear her bang into a few pieces of furniture as she got dressed for bed. "That girl is going to make us prematurely grey haired." Charming said walking with his wife to their room for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: hey guys! sorry for the delay, vacation happened then I lost my train of thought on where I wanted this to go. I re-wrote this chapter a few times and I'm still not completely happy with it, so sorry in advance if it sucks. If anybody has any sort of suggestion or request on where this story should go feel free to let me know! I'm open to all suggestions! Thank you for reading and sticking with this. Hope you all have a good week, enjoy!_**

 _"Hello? Is anybody there?" said the little blonde haired, green eyed, seven year old girl as she heard a noise in the woods. Emma and her two older foster brothers were playing hide and seek in the woods behind their house and it was Emma's turn to seek and she wasn't doing that well._

 _"Tom! Jason! This isn't fun anymore. It's starting to get dark. Where are you guys?" Emma usually wasn't one to give up, but she was currently on her foster parent's good side and being late for dinner wouldn't be a good thing._

 _The woods were now pitch black and Emma could barely see where she was going. She was terrified. What if her foster parents didn't care enough to find her? What if her foster brothers did this on purpose? She was the only girl in the house so she got a bit more attention._

 _"I wish my real parent would come save me. They will one day" The scared little girl said aloud._

 _She kept walking and walking. She felt like she was going nowhere. Emma felt the temperature get hotter and more humid, as if she was entering a jungle. Being too distracted by the climate change, she didn't notice she was getting close to the edge of a hill._

 _Taking a few more steps into the unknown Emma tumbled down the hill she was just on. She gave a slight groan as she brushed the dirt off of her face and arms. She felt the presence of someone else near her. She slowly looked up at the figure walking towards her. "No!" she said breathlessly._

 _She looked down and noticed that she was now her grown, 29 year old self. Her gaze went back up to the figure almost on top of her now. "Hey, there's my favorite lost girl! Fancy seeing you back here."_

 _She knew that accent and smugness anywhere._ No, _she thought,_ I can't be back here. No way! _Standing above her was none other than Peter Pan. She was back in Neverland._

 _"What do you want?" Emma sneered as she began to stand up. She squared her shoulders, standing tall over the should be teenager, and gave Pan a glare that would incinerate him on the spot._

" _I just wanted to see how my favorite lost girl is doing, especially since you were actually lost in the woods" he said with a devilish grin on his face and a wicked gleam in his eye._

 _Not buying his statement of somewhat concern, Emma crossed her arms over her chest and said in a hard tone "Why are you really here?"_

 _"To give you a place to stay. Clearly you're here for a reason. Feeling a bit_ lost _?" Pan said, with extra emphasis on the word lost._

 _"I'm fine" Emma replied still holding her ground, thinking that is a joke her father would make._

 _"Of course, the savior is always fine. But who will save you? Mommy and Daddy are busy with the newest addition, are they not? Always paying more attention to him, getting to watch him grow before their eyes. Cherishing-" Pan was going on walking around her in a circle when she cut him off._

 _"That's not going to work, someone already beat you to that bit and I've had my peace with it."_

 _"Oh, I'm sure you have. But we both know you still resent your parents for abandoning you, more than once if I may add. They were willing to part with you and stay on this island together, probably start a new family without you. And who found who after my downfall? That's right, the one handed wonder made it to you and not the royal couple. They were busy turning your room into his, the rightful heir to the throne. I mean if the Captain could give up his whole life to get to you, why couldn't your parents? They pushed you aside again, Emma. Always falling behind on their list of priorities. It's a shame really, you would've made a lovely princess."_

 _At this Emma had had enough of his smugness and cheap blows. She charged him and tackled him to the ground. "ENOUGH!"_

 _When she stood again he was gone, vanished into the darkness of the island. She began to walk, to find a way out. No way in hell she wanted to be here. She could be the next Forrest Gump with all the traveling her legs have been doing lately. She just wanted to be home in her bed, in the comfort of her parent's house._

 _"Please be Tink's hut" Emma said as she could see a hut with a light on in the distance. As she got closer she heard some familiar voices laughing and playing. Emma made her way to the front door and knocked. Her father answered the door and looked at her with a lost look in his eyes. "Dad?" Emma said with a bit of hope in her voice._

 _"Who are you, I'm not your father" the familiar looking man said to her._

 _At this point Snow made her way to the door holding a toddler on her hip. "David, who is this?"_

 _"I'm not sure. Are you lost?" Her should be father said. Emma rolled her eyes at the lost reference again._

 _"You guys are my parents. I'm Emma, your daughter, the product of true love. The one you sent through a wardrobe to escape a cure and save your people?" Emma said trying to get them to remember._

 _"We've never had a daughter. Our one and only true love is right here" David said with a hand motion to his son on his wife's hip._

 _"No! No! You love me too! I'm your oldest child!" Emma said in a pleading tone._

 _"We've never loved you, Emma" Snow said with a wicked gleam in her eye._

 _Suddenly Emma is facing some of her worst foster parents, all saying the same thing "We've never loved you, Emma." "Emma!"_

**OUAT**

David was startled awake by the sound of glass breaking. He quickly sat up in bed and noticed a few lights flickering in the apartment. There's only one person he knows who can control the lights like that. _Oh no,_ he thought. "Emma" his voice was barely above a whisper.

He threw off the sheets of his bed and bounded up the stairs to his daughters room. When he made it to the top of the stairs he noticed his daughter sitting up in bed holding her head. Was that blood he saw?

"Emma! What happened?" He said walking across the room to his daughter. He squatted down in front of her to be more at eye-level and saw that it was definitely blood coming from her head. "Oh, Emma you're bleeding!"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm just going to go clean it up real quick" She stood up from her bed, a little too quickly, and began to sway. Her father noticed and quickly grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Woah, Emma. Are you okay?" Charming said with heavy concern into his daughter's eyes.

"Yes, dad. I'm fine. Now can I go clean this up?" Emma said with a tired tone in her voice.

David assisted his daughter down the steps of the loft and brought her straight to the bathroom. "Sit" David commanded, pointing to the toilet who's seat was just brought down.

"I can do this myself, I'm not a kid" Emma said with a roll of her eyes at her father's worrying.

"You're my kid, so sit and let me take care of this" David said in a no nonsense voice to his incredibly stubborn daughter.

He got a face cloth and ran some water on it before going over to his daughter and removing her hand to wipe the blood off of her forehead. Noticing that it wasn't too deep he grabbed Emma's hand and put it to where his hand just was so that she could continue to hold the wet cloth on her head wound. Without sating any words David continued to take care of his daughter's cut.

When he was satisfied and finally put a decent sized Band-Aid on her forehead, he helped her stand and brought her to the living room. "Sit" David commanded for the third time that evening. Emma wasn't one to be bossed around, but judging by her father's tone she wasn't going to argue with him.

A couple minutes later and he came back into the living room with two mugs, one in each hand. He handed one to his little girl and sat down in front of her on the coffee table. _Good thing Snow is asleep, she doesn't like to use the coffee table as siting furniture,_ David though before he cleared his throat.

"So what happened up there, Em?" David asked, wanting to start out slow.

"I think the lightbulb burst and a shard caught my forehead" Emma said, not wanting her father to ask why the light exploded to begin with.

"Why did the light burst, Emma?" _So close,_ Emma thought at her father's concerning question

"Beats me" Emma tried to play off.

"Nuh huh, no way. Emma, you're the only person I know whose powers controls light like that. Plus it's tied to your emotions. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah everything is fine" Emma said, averting her gaze from her father's as she lightly sipped her hot chocolate.

"Emma, please don't lie to me. You inherited your superpower, in case you didn't know." David said with a disapproving look in his eyes and a raised eyebrow.

"I had a nightmare, no big deal. I must have subconsciously freaked out a bit, its fine" Emma replied, wanting the attention to be on anything but herself.

"Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it'll make you feel better" David said, encouraging his daughter to share what was on her mind.

"No thanks, I'm fine. I'm just going to head up to bed. Good night" Emma said trying to stand up. He father was quick to react and caught her hand before she could walk away.

"Not going to happen, princess. Tell me what's wrong" Her father said with a no bullshit look in his eyes.

Emma sat in silence for a few moments before heaving a big sigh "Fine. I had a dream about the time I was lost in the woods when I was seven. My foster brothers didn't like me so they tricked me into playing hide and go seek. They brought me deep in the woods and made me count to 100 then they ran back home. I spent hours trying to get out of there. Anyway this time it was different, this time I ended up in Neverland. As if we haven't had enough of that place. Pan said some things and got my mind racing with doubt, per usual with him. I found you and mom and Neal but you guys didn't remember me, and yeah. That's it" Emma ended quickly, not wanting to bring up some of her insecurities.

David sat there looking into his daughter's eyes. She was still hiding something. What the hell did Pan say to her that she believed? "What did he say to you?" David asked out of the blue.

"Huh? Oh, nothing I haven't heard before" Emma said, looking down at the empty mug in her hands.

"That wasn't my question, Emma. What did he say to you that made you this upset?" David said lifting her chin to meet his eyes.

"The usual things people say to plant doubt in my mind, you have a new chance at raising a kid. You abandoned me, stupid stuff like that." She has tears stinging the back of her eyes thinking of the truth behind Pan's claim that Hook gave up everything to find her. She felt like her parents just gave up after the first dead end.

"So then what has you so upset? You know we love you more than anything, Emma. You and Neal both hold a special place in our hearts. Just because we missed out on your childhood doesn't mean I love you any less. The same goes for your mother. You know all of this, so what has your magic playing with the lights and bursting a bulb?"

Damn her father was good. He could always read her better than her mother. Does she really want to get into a deep heart to heart right now? Her mouth betrayed her mind as she began to tell the truth.

"Pan said something that struck a chord with me. How long did you try to get back here to Henry and me? Did you give up after the first dead end? Did you even try at all? There was a way to find us, there's always a way and you and mom of all people should know that. Killian got to me in New York! New York, where there's like a million people and he found me. But I guess you guys didn't have any time, what with the new baby and all. Too busy turning that old room into his?" Emma spat with anger in her voice and a few tears in her eyes.

David was speechless. Her own subconscious thoughts told her all of this? How long has she been feeling this way? "Emma, I'm so sorry you feel that way. You know we love you so much. There was no possible way to get to you, we tried along with Regina. It wasn't possible. Killian got to you after the curse was cast, that was our way back here to you. Yet again we were stuck in Storybrooke and couldn't leave to find you. Oh Emma, I am so incredibly sorry you thought that of us. Please know that it killed us more and more every day to be away from you and Henry. We missed you so much, sweetheart" At this point he had gathered Emma into his arms and was cradling the back of her head like he usually did.

He held her there for a long moment before releasing her and wiping away a stray tear that ran down her cheek. "You know, you were often in my dreams when we were back in the forest" Charming said with a small smile.

This statement caught Emma by surprise. "I was?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"Yes, would you like to hear about it?" David asked, not wanting to overwhelm his daughter tonight.

"Yeah, I'd like that" Emma replied with a smile.

He sat back and put his arm around his daughter and brought her close to him. "It started off with me back at our old castle, I heard a baby crying from your room. When I got there it was empty but it looked as beautiful as we left it before the first curse. You appeared behind me in this truly amazing ball gown that was silver and head feathers. It made you look like a beautiful swan. You wanted me to teach you how to dance for your first ball, I was so thrilled that you asked me. You were a natural, just like your mother. I told you this was the life I wanted you to have. Then the dream went south" he finished with a far off look in his eyes remembering his daughter telling him he failed her.

"What do you mean it went south?" Emma asked, sitting up and looking at her father.

"Then you uh…you told me I failed you and then I lost you to the wardrobe, again" his eyes were welling up with tears at the memory.

Emma noticed her father's distress and put both her arms around his torso, hugging him. "You didn't fail me, dad. You saved me and put me on the path back to finding you. I don't blame you for what you had to do"

Charming was moved by his daughter's words. He sat there and held her for a long time. He felt her relax in his embrace and figured she must be exhausted. "I think it's time for bed, princess" Charming said then kissed his little girl on the head.

"Mmm hmm" was his only response from his 29 year old daughter.

Charming chuckled before he helped his daughter stand up. She was definitely in the verge of sleeping on him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her up to her bedroom. If she were completely aware of what was going on she would have protested immediately, luckily for David she was very much out of it.

He laid her down in bed and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Emma. I love you" As he was picking up the shards left of the lightbulb, he heard her murmur "Love you too, daddy"

Charming's heart swelled at that. Daddy. She said daddy. He has always wanted to hear that from his little girl. He went downstairs and disposed of the glass before going to bed with the biggest smile on his face.

**OUAT**

Emma came down the loft stairs the next morning as she usually did. Rushing to get her day going and struggling to put her hair up into a pony tail. How she loved to just brush through it once and blow dry it and not touch it anymore throughout the day. Low maintenance was more her style.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs her mother rushed over to her and took her face into her hands and tilted it. "Ummmmm?" was all Emma could say before her mother sat her down at the kitchen table.

"Are you alright, sweetie? Your father told me about last night" Snow said as her husband emerged from his bedroom dressed and ready for their run.

Emma rolled her eyes in her father's direction. It was so like him to tell his wife everything as soon as it happened. Emma wondered how detailed her father's tale on what happened and what was said last night. "I'm fine, mom. Seriously" At the thought of her mother's incessant worry, it dawned on Emma that she had the power to fix this. "As a matter of fact…"

Emma closed her eyes and focused her energy, at the wave of her hand by her forehead she felt the cut disappear. She opened her eyes to see both her parents looking at her curiously. Emma proceeded to remove the tan strip from her forehead and saw her father's eyes widen and heard a small gasp from her mother.

"There, all better" Emma said with a smirk in her parents direction. Snow brought her hands to her daughter's forehead and ran her thumb over where the red mark should've been.

All Snow could muster up was a breathless "Wow" at her daughters magical skill.

"I've been practicing. You ready, dad?" Emma said backing away from her mother and retreating towards the apartment door to start their morning run.

Charming snapped out of his thoughts and followed his daughter out the front door, with a quick kiss on the cheek to his wife. The pair began their workout with the usual warmup walk down Main Street. The sky was cloudy and there was a cold twinge to the fall air. It was nearing the end of October and even though the town went through an early winter, the weather was finally warming up a bit.

Emma was deep in thought at what else was to come at the end of October. Her birthday. It was a couple days away as a matter of fact. Did her parents remember? She never actually celebrated a birthday with them. Henry found her on her birthday, but she doubts he had any knowledge of that. But wait, he 'grew up' celebrating her birthday with her. He was actually there when she turned 29 in New York. Should she tell them? Should she just ignore that day like she usually did? She was technically abandoned that day. No. She had to stop thinking about it that way. She was saved that day, end of story. She is here now that is all that matters, no more negativity.

Her father pulled her out of her inner thoughts with a gentle hand on her shoulder and a soft call of her name. "A bit _lost_ in thought there, Emma?" He said with a wink.

Emma realized that they were now at the edge of the woods. "You're not funny anymore" Emma returned before turning and running off in front of him. She had a lot of steam to blow off from last night's emotional encounter so she pushed harder today and kept a good ten feet in front of her dad for the first mile of their run.

David could tell there was still something off with his daughter. She was really hauling it this morning. He would never admit this but it was getting harder for him to keep up with her. The air was particularly cold this morning. It reminded him of when his daughter, the one running as if a monster was chasing her at the moment, was trapped in an ice cave. He noticed Emma slow down a bit and waited till he was by her side before she mentioned the route extension.

Charming smiled and lead his daughter down a new path and told her to follow the blue blazes now instead of the white. When she realized she could somewhat navigate by the color of the trail blazes she sprints ahead again. _This better not be a reoccurring thing now,_ Charming thought.

They were pretty deep in the woods, working on conquering their second mile when it began to rain. It started as a soft rain through the tree tops, sadly that soft rain turned heavy fast. The air got a bit colder as well, not a good combination in Charming's eyes. He felt that familiar tightening deep in his chest, he couldn't push this any further.

He went to yell Emma's name to tell her to slow down when he saw her slip in the mud down the small hill she had just ascended. He ran faster to get to her. When he finally made it to her she was still laying on her back, rain smacking her in the face, golden hair becoming mixed with the brown of the wet ground beneath her.

"Emma!" David said very loudly in a worried tone as he knelt down next to his daughter. He noticed she was breathing fast and shallow, just like he was on the verge of doing. "Emma are you alright? What's hurt?" He received no response to his two questions, she just breathed harder and kept her eyes close.

"Emma you need to answer me right now! Please!" David was now pleading with his little girl, who was still laying there breathing irregularly. She raised her arm and gave him an 'OK' sign with her hand before placing it in his.

Knowing nothing was seriously injured on her, David sat her up and moved behind her and began rubbing circles on her back. A few minutes later and her breathing calmed down significantly.

"Emma, can you answer me now?" David asked, still rubbing her back gently. Worried out of his mind.

"Just got the wind knocked out of me I guess. Sorry, I didn't want to move right away. I had to focus on not having an asthma attack right then" Emma said, then realized she just shared something from her past her parents didn't know of.

"You have asthma?" He didn't sound angry at her confession, he sounded kind of astounded.

"I used to. It hasn't bothered me in a very long time, why?" She asked, curious at her father's weird mood.

"Sorry about that. You get that from me I guess. Must run in the family. Hasn't bothered me since before you were born, until today actually. I'm not sure this cold rainy weather is really helping our lungs out" He said with a small chuckle.

Emma turned and looked at her father with a realizing expression. "Runs in the family, huh. I always knew that as a kid. There were never any environmental reasons for my crappy lungs, the doctors blamed genetics. Since I didn't know you back then I guess I can finally do this" Emma proceeded to smack her father's arm, "Thanks for passing that down, jerk!" She finished with a laugh.

"Hey! It isn't fully my fault. I had to get it from a family member. Just doing my duty in passing down the family traits" He replied with a wink to his daughter.

She looked pensive before she looked up and asked, "What did you do without inhalers in the forest?"

"There were herbs to drink in tea that had the same effect. Where's your inhaler?" He asked sternly, knowing the answer but hoping for the right one.

Emma averted her eyes from her father's "Uhhhh…It hasn't bothered me since a couple months after Henry was born, so I don't have one" she rushed the last part of her sentence, praying he wouldn't harp on it.

"Well, on Monday you and I will go to the clinic during lunch and each get one. If we're going to keep running in the cold we need to be prepared, got it?"

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. Can we not tell mom about this? She'll go insane and you know it. If I promise to bring it with me on runs can this just stay between us?" Emma said with her puppy dog eyes that her father couldn't resist. Plus she promised to bring it with her and she always stuck to her word.

"Fine, for now. Let's get out of this rain before you get sick, Em" He said as he helped her stand up and put an arm around her shoulder. The rain was still coming down hard on them. Emma had another idea. She stopped and David gave her a confused look. She closed her eyes and thought of the warmth of home. She focused her energy on being home. Her mother and brother awaiting their arrival at home. The warm shower she could take at home. Home.

A white light surrounded her and her father as she felt disoriented. Her mother's startled gasp and father's light chuckle confirmed that she was back at home.

Emma opened her eyes and smiled at her parents. "Well, there's no place like home"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello all. Thank you to those who have favorited, followed, reviewed, and even read. Sorry if my updates are kinda slow, I've been doing a lot of reading lately and have been busy with friends. Anyways, I'm sure that doesn't matter. Couple things before we begin this chapter 1) sorry if I'm not balancing relationships well, this is my first fic and haven't really found all the character's voices yet. 2) please don't expect a lot of Henry in this story, personally not a fan of his character. sorry. 3) Please go over to UglyDucklings10 and read her stories. I'm personally obsessed with her new Neverland one! (Love you D). That's all folks, thanks for sticking with this I really appreciate it! Happy Hiatus!**

* * *

Snow turned around quickly when she saw a flash of white light in her living room area. It startled her to see her husband and daughter appear once the white light began to fade. Emma has never done that before, at least not that Snow could remember. Something must be wrong if they didn't finish their run this morning. She noticed her husband laughing and saw Emma mumble something but didn't quite catch it.  
"Emma? David! What happened? Is everything alright? Emma does your shin hurt?" She asked, making her way over to her sopping wet daughter and husband. She hadn't even noticed it was pouring outside.

Laughing a bit, Emma replied to her worry wart of a mother. "Yeah, mom we're good. It just started pouring out of nowhere and we were still pretty deep in the woods, so why give poofing home a try?"

Snow saw her daughter shivering a bit and was beginning to get concerned that Emma would get sick from her little rain exposure. "Emma, go take a hot shower and warm up a bit okay? David I'll grab you a towel"

Emma and David began walking off in different directions of the family apartment when Snow's eyes caught their sneakers leaving a mud trail behind each of them. "Emma! David! Stop where you are and remove your sneakers, you're getting mud everywhere. And Emma, you have mud all over your backside, what happened?" She said once again making her way over to her daughter.

Emma bent down and began to take her sneakers off in a somewhat tidy manner. "Oh it's nothing, I just slipped running down one of the hills when it was raining. I'm fine"

"Yeah Snow, she just _lost_ her balance and slipped." David couldn't help but give a big hearty laugh at that one. Man, this joke would never get old with him. He looked up to see his daughter glaring at him and his wife giving him an unamused look. "Hey, I'm not the one who got lost in the woods yesterday, you're still in trouble young lady!" Charming said in a bit of a stern voice.

"Yeah well you'll both be in trouble unless you guys clean up the mess you've made of my apartment!" Snow said raising her voice at her husband and daughter.

"Ugh, it'll take so long. I don't like cleaning" Emma said in a whiny, almost teenager tone towards her mother. "Wait a minute, I got this" Emma said just as an idea popped into her head.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the mess at hand. Giving a slight flick of her wrist she opened her eyes again and saw that the mud trail between her father and her was all cleaned up.

David had the proudest grin on his face as he made his way over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "That's my girl. Thank you" Then he took off to get a towel.

After her nice, long, hot shower, Emma descended the stairs wearing her dark grey long sleeve turtle neck and a pair of jeans. Her hair was down, per usual, with soft waves that flowed down her shoulders and tucked just behind her ears.

She saw her mother at the stove frying some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Oh how she loved her mother's cooking, especially in the morning. Before she could say a word to her mother, Snow walked to the fridge, grabbed an ice pack and handed it to Emma.

"Uhh, thanks but I'd rather wait for the eggs and bacon" Emma told her mother with a cheeky grin.

"Sit and ice for twenty minutes, you just ran so rest!" Her mother replied using the spatula to point at the kitchen chairs already set up so Emma could sit and put her leg up to ice it. Emma huffed and turned her back toward her mother to go sit at the kitchen table.

Since David was in the shower, Snow thought this could be her only chance to address her daughter about what happened last night. Emma noticed her mother fidgeting while making breakfast. "Everything okay, mom?"

Focusing back on her task, Snow just went for it. "So your father told about what happened last night, fully" she added, turning to face her daughter.

"Naturally, I mean you guys share a heart why not share all about private moments too?" Emma said, a bit annoyed. She was in no mood to discuss her feelings, or re-discuss in this case. Why couldn't just talking to one parent be enough? Why does her mother always do this?

"Emma, honey. You have to know that being apart from you was awful on us. At the time there was no possible way to get back to you. Regina and your father would stay up all night going through different scenarios, nothing would work. It took your father sacrificing himself for us to finally get to you. Please know that we did everything we could before then, we had to try and move on when we failed you, again."

Her mother's eyes were glistening with unshed tears, Emma herself got a bit watery eyed.

"I'm not used to this. This is still weird for me" Emma said bowing her head a bit, trying to avoid her mother's concerning gaze at all costs.

"What's weird for you, Emma?" Snow wondered, turning off the stove now that breakfast was ready.

"This. All of this. Having parents. Having people sacrifice themselves for me. I'm not worth it" Emma said in a small voice. She was staring down at her hands twiddling her thumbs, something she always did in uncomfortable situations.

Snow's heart broke at hearing her daughter say that. Did she really not know how much she meant to them? She couldn't take it. Snow made her way over to her daughter and knelt down and hugged her. She said nothing, just hugged her. Before Snow pulled away, she whispered in her daughter's ear, "You've always been worth it to us"

Emma gave no reply, she just gave her mother a small smile. At that moment her father finally finished his shower and came out of the bathroom. "I was finally able to enjoy my shower since our run was cut short. Man that felt great"

Emma and Snow just looked at each other and started laughing.

**OUAT**

It was another quite morning at the Storybrooke Sheriff's station. Emma was going a bit stir crazy and was cleaning the coffee pot in the hopes to make a fresh batch. David on the other hand was filing out some more paper work. Emma was curiously staring at her father, wondering what on Earth he could still be filing out, all the Snow Queen stuff had been taken care of.

"Uhhh, dad? What are you filing out? I thought we finished all the paper work yesterday?" She made her way over to her father to see just what it was he was writing down.

When she approached his desk he pulled the papers away and put them into a folder. "It's nothing, just some last minute business" David said in a dismissive tone.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Emma replied back in a defensive tone "Well if it's just nothing then why can't I see?"

"Because it's all taken care of and it's in the past" David said in a frustrated tone. He picked up the folder and was getting up to walk out of the station with it. Emma's curiosity took over and while her father's back was turned she ran over and snatched it out of his hand and ran into her office. Not childish at all.

Emma quickly opened the folder and read its contents. "It's the forms for the fixed brick wall in the station" She said, still looking down at the papers with a defeated tone to her voice. She was the one who destroyed the wall and now the city was paying for it.

Taking the folder back from his daughter, David placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "It's all set. Just forget about it okay, Em?"

"Yeah because forgetting the wall that I Hulk smashed will be very easy" She said rubbing her hands together and looking down at the ground, remembering every detail of that day.

"Hulk what?" Her father replied with a small chuckle as he made his way back to his desk.

"The Hulk? Ya know, big green guy. 'Don't make me angry'. None of this is ringing a bell?" Emma said trying to get her father to recognize one of the less cool Avengers.

"You seem to forget that I was in a coma for 28 years" David said, sitting down at his desk finishing up the forms for the wall.

"Wait, what? I thought it was just a few years after the car accident?" Emma said in disbelief.

"Nope, the whole 28. After Regina's guards got me I was in a coma in this world until I woke up when you arrived in Storybrooke" David said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Wow…umm. I never properly thanked you for that. So thank you, for umm saving me that night." Emma said looking down at her twiddling thumbs.

"Emma, you don't need to thank me. I'd do anything to protect you. Please understand that" David said with a sympathetic voice.

Emma finally looked up at her father and saw nothing but love in his eyes. He sacrificed himself twice for her. Twice. What if one of those times he was taken away from her. She had so much she wanted to say to both her parents but could never muster up the courage to do so.

"And thank you again for the second curse that got you guys back here. I had never realized how much you guys were willing to give up. I mean what if Regina couldn't split mom's heart? What if you never made it back here? Neal would've grown up without a father and I never would've gotten to say goodbye! What made you do that?" Emma rambled off with her voice getting louder the more she went on. By the end of her little speech she seemed angry and upset.

"Emma, relax. Everything is okay. I'm fine and it all worked out in the end. So just relax and stop with the 'what ifs'. You sound like your mother. And like I said, I'd do anything to protect you, Emma" David said in a quieter tone than his daughter's. He got up from his desk and went over to hug his daughter who seemed a bit distressed.

Once he embraced his daughter she sucked in a hard breath through her teeth as if she was in pain. This startled her father and he immediately put her at arm's length and looked her over as he asked in a frantic voice, "Emma, what's wrong?"

"Dad, relax. My back is just sore from my fall this morning. No need to _lose_ your cool" She added with a wink.

"You're going to give me grey hair. And that's my joke" He said giving his daughter a playful shove.

"Huh. I think I already see some grey hair coming in, and oh man just look at that bald spot. Sure you're doing okay old man?" Emma said in a mock caring tone.

"Watch your mouth, young lady" David said pulling his daughter in for another hug.

**OUAT**

It was finally lunch time for the Storybrooke sheriff duo. David went to go have lunch with his wife and son and Emma called Killian and told him to meet her at Granny's.

Emma walked in to the crowded diner and decided maybe lunch here wasn't such a good idea. Reaching into her pocket to get her phone, she glanced up and saw Killian in a booth with what looked like two grilled cheeses in front of him, along with a basket of onion rings. She walked over and gave him a light kiss on the lips, as if they've been doing this for years.

"Meeting somebody else for lunch here, sailor?" Emma said sitting down across from the devilishly handsome man with piercing blue eyes.

"Aye, I'm waiting for a blonde maiden. Calls herself some sort of 'Savior', bloody pretentious if you ask me" Killian countered with a knee weakening raise of his right eyebrow.

"Well aren't you a gentleman. I'll keep that in mind the next time you need saving" Emma said while taking an onion ring and stuffing it in her mouth.

"I'm always a gentleman. So how's everything at the station going these days, love?" Killian inquired, joining in on eating.

"The usual, paperwork, pointless calls. Nothing special" Emma answered with a mouth full of food.

"I'm guessing it's better than chasing magical monsters through realms?" He said with those bright blue eyes staring intently at her. She always found herself a little lost in thought if she looked into his eyes for too long. Now was one of those moments. "Swan?" she refocused her eyes at him, "A little _lost_ in thought there?" He finished with a wink.

"Ya know, this joke is getting very old. It was one time and I wasn't even that lost. I had a handle on things" Emma replied, a bit defensive.

"The only one who saves you is you isn't that right, love? Now finish this lovely meal I have provided and I'll escort you back to the station" Killian said, pushing her grilled cheese further in her direction.

"Rushing me out the door here, pirate?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Perhaps" Killian said with a smoldering look in his eyes. Emma simply narrowed her eyes at him. "Your boy and I actually have plans to go sailing once he's out of that insufferable facility"

"You mean school? Sounds fun, just make sure-" But before she could finish, her pirate boyfriend finished her thought, "he wears a life jacket. No worries love, the lad is safe with me" He finished getting up and kissing her on the cheek before offering a hand to escort her out of the pleasant diner.

**OUAT**

David picked up his son at home to give Granny a lunch break as well. After packing a quick lunch he made his way over to the mayor's office. Wow, his wife, mayor of Storybrooke. Back in power as they should be. Proper rulers to their people. After a short drive to city hall, David got his son out of the truck and threw the dipper bags strap over his shoulder. Making his way upstairs, holding his son he greeted his wife with his signature charming smile.

"There are my charming boys!" Snow said in a high pitched voice, crossing the room and taking her son from her husband's arms. David leaned in and gave his wife a deep kiss.

"How is your day going my dear?" David asked going to sit down in a chair. Snow was bouncing her son in her arms while her husband got their sandwiches out of the bag.

"It's going along. How about you? How is Emma?" Snow inquired, sitting down to enjoy her lunch with most of her family.

"She's okay. She got a little upset when she saw me filling out the forms for the wall that she broke? Crumbled? You know what I'm referring to. Anyway that lead her to thanking me for protecting her in the past, then she yelled at me for the whole second curse thing. I must say I love that her walls are coming down with us, but I'm worried about her. Even for her she's never this open or emotional with us. Should we talk to her?" David rambled.

Snow paused her eating and looked up to give her husband a concerning glance. "I think this is good. She's been bottling up her feelings for so long. It's about time she expressed them"

"Are you sure? Maybe there's something going on that we don't know about. Do you think her and Killian are fighting? I swear to God if he hurts her in any way I'll-"

"Charming! Relax, she and Killian are doing fine. Why don't we wait until after her surprise party to talk to her? She'll see just how much she is truly loved here and maybe she'll relax a little. Speaking of, we have a few more details to go over" Snow said getting up and walking over to her file cabinet and pulling out a binder.

"Really, Snow? A binder full. She's going to kill you, you know?" David said with a slight chuckle. For months Snow and he have been planning a party for Emma's birthday. Getting decorations, getting a food list together, finding the perfect present to get their daughter on the first birthday they spend with her, and Snow found the best cake recipe. Were they going a bit overboard? Of course. But their first birthday with her was something to celebrate. Had they been in the Enchanted Forest it would have been a huge ball.

"She'll be fine, anyway she deserves it. After everything she's been through, she deserves this from us, Charming" Snow said with a sad look in her eyes. David walked over to his wife and took their son from her arms while she flipped through the pages of the binder.

"Okay so it's obviously going to be at Granny's. It'll be buffet style for food, and I got the decorations all squared away so we can cross that off our list. Remember to have Killian and Henry take her out for a few hours to distract her while we get everything ready. Oh! Did you wrap your gifts yet?" Snow was rambling off a million things and Charming was struggling to keep up.

"Yes, I wrapped the gifts that I got her. What about the joint one from us? Is that wrapped and hidden?" David asked his wife who was very focused on every last detail.

"Yup. Wrapped and tucked away in the back of our closet. Oh, Charming, I hope she likes it" Snow said with a bit of worry in her voice.

David wrapped a reassuring arm around his wife and replied, "She'll love it, I know she will"

**OUAT**

When their half hour was up, the Storybrooke sheriff duo was back at the station. David made it back a couple minutes before Emma did. He was sitting at his desk when he heard two voices approaching the main office. Emma and Killian strode into the station hand in hand, smiling. He loved seeing his daughter happy for once, even if it was with the pirate.

"Hey, dad! How's mom and baby bro doing?" Emma asked, taking her jacket off and throwing it into her office.

"They're good. Your mom is busy with town stuff. Your brother hit me in the face with a fist full of slobber when I dropped him back at the house with Granny" He said wiping his face where there used to be a patch of baby spit.

"Aye, the young prince has gotten me in the face from time to time" Killian added while rubbing his cheek, thinking of the times he's leaned in to kiss his Swan when she's holding her brother only to be met with a small fist.

"Yeah, well, at least he doesn't pull your hair. Anyways, what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?" Emma asked, sitting down at her desk, cleaning up a bit.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair. See you later, mate" Killian said, bowing a bit at David. He walked over to Emma's desk and leaned down for a kiss. He tried to pull back but she had her hand on the back of his head. She deepened the kiss despite the groan she heard from her father. When she finally pulled away he gave her a small wink before heading out the station door.

"Must you do that in front of me?" David asked, finally turning around to face his daughter.

"Excuse me, but you and mom make out in front of me all the time! I think you can manage" She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're my daughter, my little girl. I don't want to see any of that, ever!" David said, also crossing his arms over his chest. She could've been his mini me, had she not been the same age as her father.

"Please don't make this into a cheesy moment. I feel like you and I have met our quota of that for the month" Emma added in a bit of a pleading tone.

"You think I'm cheesy?" David said, in a mock offended tone.

"Well yeah, not as bad as mom, but you're a softy" Emma said honestly. Noticing her father's gaze on her she tried to change the subject. "Okay this is veering on mushy. So are we patrolling today or should we just do it tomorrow and head home early today? I'm kinda tired, and sore" Emma admitted, hoping her father would let them go home early.

"Let's switch over the calls and head home early, I agree with the sore part. You were really hauling it this morning there, kiddo" David said playing with the buttons on the stations answering machine.

"Yeah, well I felt motivated to step it up a bit" She added, avoiding her father's eyes.

"Hey, Em. You okay from last night? Honestly?" David said, going toward his daughter and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay" He gave her a skeptical look, "Honestly, I feel better. Thank you, again" Emma finished.

"Okay. Let's go home and surprise your mom with dinner, shall we?" And with that father and daughter strode out of the station, arm in arm.

**OUAT**

"Emma! You have to keep stirring the meat or else it'll stick to the pan" David ordered while he cut up vegetables for the tacos they were preparing for the evening's meal.

"Dad, I know! I know how to cook. Henry and I didn't starve in New York" Emma said in an aggravated tone, slamming her hands down on the counter.

"Hey! Do not take that tone with me, Emma. I was just trying to help you out" David said, turning and crossing his arms over his chest to look at her.

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't feeling that well and she was exhausted, which usually lead to her being short with people. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired. It's been a long week. I didn't mean to snap at you, dad" she ended with a sad look in her eyes. David saw them and melted. He went over and wrapped her in a hug, cradling the back of her head.

"It's okay, Em. If you're that tired you should go to bed early" He said, releasing her from the hug.

"Yeah I probably will" Emma said, going back and stirring the meat

Just as they were placing everything on the table, Snow came into the apartment with a smile on her face at the sight of her husband and daughter already having dinner ready.

"Wow, you guys didn't manage to burn anything this time" Snow said, hanging up her jacket and slipping her shoes off. Her husband met her in the doorway and dipped her low and plunged a big kiss on her lips.

"Really? Even after you yelled at me for kissing Killian, you go and do this. Ugh!" Emma went over and got her brother out of his bouncy chair and pressed her cheek to his, both looking over at their parents. "Are mom and dad being gross?" Neal gurgled a bit. "Yeah that's right, were scarred for life here little bro"

"Alright, alright. Let's sit down and eat, shall we?" Snow said, stepping away from her husband and towards the dinner table.

"Yes let's eat, I'm starving!" Emma agreed before sitting down at the table.

"So what made you guys want to make dinner?" Snow asked her husband and daughter, who both had their mouths completely full.

"Dad said to" Emma said with a mouth full of taco.

"I thought it would be nice for you to come home to dinner instead of making it yourself" Charming added with a sideward glance at his daughter. He could see her get a bit smaller in her chair after her answer.

"Well thank you both, I appreciate it" Snow said smiling at her family. They continued to eat their dinner in silence, but Snow couldn't hold it in anymore. "So I think I'm going to go back to teaching" the brunette blurted out.

Charming choked a little bit at the sudden outburst and Emma wiped her mouth of the sour cream hanging off her lip. "Umm, okay…" Emma finally said, breaking the silence.

"I mean I've just been thinking how much I miss the kids and teaching. It's all I've known for 28 years. And besides, I'd get home sooner so Neal wouldn't need a nanny for so long" She was borderline rambling.

"So who's going to be mayor?" Emma asked, a bit confused on what was going on.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Snow?" David said, finally speaking up.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's not like the Enchanted Forest. There's different rules and guidelines here and to be honest it's a bit out of my depth" She added, looking down and defeated.

"Snow, you can do anything. But if you really want to go back to teaching it wouldn't be the end of the world" Charming said in a supportive tone.

"Yeah mom, you made a great teacher and I bet Henry and his class really miss you" Emma said, joining in on her father's supportive push.

"Regina is so much better now than she was during the first curse. She's way more experienced at being a mayor than I am" Snow added, really trying to sell this idea to her family.

"Yeah, whatever makes you happy my dear" Charming said, getting up to clear the table and kissing his wife's cheek.

"Alright so it's settled, I'm going back to teaching and I'll ask Regina if she wants her old job back" Snow said in a proud, upbeat manner.

David and Emma cleaned up the table and the kitchen together. Since they made the mess they should be the ones to clean it up.

"Why don't I just magic this all clean?" Emma asked in a hopeful tone with a smile curling on her lips.

"I don't know, Emma. You've been using your magic a lot lately, and we know it takes a toll on you if you use it too much. Actually, maybe that's why you're so tired today. Are you feeling alright?" Charming asked, coming closer to his daughter and placing the back of his hand on her forehead.

"I'm fine. I didn't sleep well last night, remember? And I only passed out once due to my magic use. I've got a better handle on it now. Pleaseeeeeeeeee. Do you really want to clean all this?" Emma said with big puppy dog eyes. She knew her father wouldn't deny her.

"Okay, fine. Just don't let your mother see" Charming said giving his daughter some space.

Emma closed her eyes and focused the rest of her energy she had into cleaning all the dishes in the sink. When she felt ready she gave her wrist a quick flick and hoped all the dishes would be clean. As she was opening her eyes she saw a glass fly through the air and smash into the fridge to her right. "Uh oh" Emma said with a guilty look on her face.

"What was that?!" Her mother's voice bellowed from the bathroom where she was giving Neal a bath before bed since the sink was occupied.

"Nothing, I bumped into Emma and she dropped a glass. We've got it under control" David said quickly before his wife came out and asked questions.

"Thank you" Emma said softly to her father who just covered for her.

"Let's just clean this us. Thankfully you made the dishes clean before you sent one flying. _Lost_ a bit of control there, Em?" Charming said with a smirk.

Emma finished putting the dishes away while her father cleaned up the broken glass. Once both were done with their duties they went to the couch in the living room to watch some tv before bed. David looked over and noticed Emma nodding off. "Emma. Why don't you go on up to bed, sweetie?" He asked, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, dad" She said as she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Em. I love you" He replied, kissing her forehead.

Snow had just come out of the bathroom as she saw her daughter hugging her father. Emma got up from the couch and walked over to her mother and brother. Hugging them both and saying goodnight she made her way up the stairs. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you" Her mother said as she walked away.

Emma made her way into her bedroom and changed into a big t-shirt and some old shorts. She barely got under the covers before her eyes starting closing again. And just life that, Emma drifted off into a peaceful sleep…she hoped.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hello again fellow Oncers! Here's another chapter, sorry I'm so slow at this, but this is is extra long so I hope that makes up for it! This is one of Henry's few appearances in the story so if you enjoy his character cherish this ;). Umm not sure when the next update is coming, hopefully soon (for your sakes) but I'm kinda busy this week and will be moving to my summer home that is wifi-less so I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you for the follows, favs, and reviews. This means so much to me! Have a great week everyone!**_

* * *

 _"Hello? Is anybody there?" said the little blonde haired, green eyed, seven year old girl as she heard a noise in the woods. She was playing hide and go seek and it was finally her turn to hide. The woods behind her house were vast and one could easily get lost in them. She thought she found a good hiding spot behind an old tree, but after what seemed like an hour she was getting nervous._

 _She began to walk back in the direction she thought her house was in. The woods were now pitch black and Emma could barely see where she was going. She was terrified. Were they not coming to find her? Did they not care?_

 _Not paying attention to where she was going, Emma slipped down a hill. She laid there for a few moments and decided it was hopeless to get up and keep going. She curled up on her side and began to cry. "Please find me" It was barely above a whisper._

 _Emma shivered against the rough cold of the night. She thought she was going crazy because she heard an older man yelling her name. "Emma! EMMA!"_

 _Recognizing the voice immediately she sprang up from the ground and began to run towards it. The man kept calling her name until there was nothing but 50 yards separating them._

 _"Daddy!" She called back. She ran as fast as she could into her father's arms. David's tight embrace began to warm her up, and her fears faded as he cradled the back of her blonde head._

 _"Princess, what happened? I couldn't find you. Why were you so far from the palace wall?" David said in a shaky voice. He too was terrified when he couldn't find his daughter in their agreed upon boundaries._

 _"I'm s-sorry, daddy!" Emma cried into his chest. He just held her tighter._

 _"It's alright, princess. I found you. Just please never do that again, okay?" David said as he released her. Noticing her shivering, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around her before picking her up in his arms._

 _"I love you, daddy" Emma said as she rested her head against his chest._

 _"And I love you too, Emma. Now let's get back to the palace before your mother is out of her meeting"_

**OUAT**

At the end of the dream Emma's eyes shot open, glistening with unshed tears. She looked around her dark room, who's only source of light was the moon shining through the window. The clock read 3:13 am. "What the hell?" She groaned, rolling back over in her bed. That felt way too realistic for her to comprehend at this time of the night…morning?

Her mind was reeling thinking back to her dream. She was seven and instead of wearing her usual jeans and a t-shirt, she was wearing a long sleeved pink dress with a touch of gold on the chest. Her hair was down with a soft wave and a jeweled headband rested on her head. Her father wore black pants and a simple white shirt with a big burgundy cape. Is this how she would've dressed?

That lost girl feeling went away the moment she saw her father. All she ever wanted as a child was to have her parents save her when she needed them. To have them protect her when the world was cruel. In reality, she never once got that. But now, she just experienced that in her dream. An empty, longing feeling started to make its way into her chest.

The rest of the time she should've been sleeping was spent analyzing her dream. She thought of different scenarios in her head, all relating to her parent's showing up and saving her from one foster home or another. But none of it was going to do her any good. The past is in the past and no one can change it. She could not fall back to sleep for the life of her. When the sun finally rose she was staring at the ceiling.

**OUAT**

Emma came down the stairs at her usual 8:11, giving her a few minutes before her and her father depart on their 8:15 am morning run. She glanced over at her parent's room and saw David tying his shoes. She just stared at him, wondering how he was the same man that was in her dream. He just looked so different and proper in those clothes.

David looked up to see his daughter staring intently at him. "You doing alright there?"

Emma blinked her eyes a couple of times before replying to her father. "Yeah, I'm fine. You ready?"

The pair took off out the door for their morning run. They actually had a nice run with no problems that morning. They returned home to have a full breakfast already made for them and a note from Snow saying she went in early to talk to Regina and get her transition back into a teacher in motion. Emma and David were both showered and dressed in record time, especially for a Friday. The father-daughter duo stopped at Granny's before they went to the station. Emma needed the caffeine due to the lack of sleep she has faced the past two nights.

The stations was quiet again for the third day in a row. There was no paper work to do. No follow ups to do. No crime to be committed. Dare someone say it, but Storybrooke was actual going through a phase of peace. David was doing some cleaning in the cells and Emma was organizing her office. If there's one thing Emma couldn't stand it was meticulous work. Filing and organizing papers was the only downfall to her job as sheriff, and even when she was a bail bonds person. She was more the action type, doing the field work was what appealed to her. She got used to the paperwork, but filing it later was a drag.

"Hey, I can't do this anymore. Want to come patrol with me or do you want to keep cleaning the floors, Cinderella?" Emma said in a sassy tone.

"Hey! Ella's stepmother made her clean. And I must say she did way more with her life than wait hand and foot on them!" David replied back defensively.

"Oh geez. My bad, I forgot she was real. Sorry" Emma said with an apologetic look on her face. "So would you like to come with me or stay here, all alone?"

"Yeah I'm getting sick of this. Let's go, sheriff!" David said grabbing his jacket with an excited look in his eyes.

David drove the squad car starting with the backroads of Storybrooke. As always the town was quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary going on. They were driving down Main Street with the windows down when Emma heard someone yelling. "Dad, slow down a bit" Emma said as she stared out the front windshield.

A man suddenly ran out from Gold's Pawn Shop. Knowing that it was Belle who was in charge of the shop and not Gold, Emma knew she needed help. Without the car stopping Emma unbuckled her seat belt and sprang from the car.

"EMMA!" David yelled as he quickly slammed on the breaks. He saw his daughter jump out of the car and run across the street. A car narrowly misses hitting her and Charming can feel his heart drop in his chest. Regaining his composure he throws the car back in drive and drives after her.

As Emma chased down the guy that ran out of the shop she noticed he looked familiar. Will Scarlet. Why does he keep doing this? Can't this guy just stay out of trouble for like two seconds? Emma runs faster and harder to get to him. "Will! Stop right now! Seriously?!" He only looks back and flashes her a smile. He takes a quick turn and continues running towards the docks.

Will seems to be losing his breath but Emma only gains ground on him. Before he knows it she tackles him into the sand. He tries to fight her off but she has a forceful knee dug into his back. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, thief" Emma says while she cuffs his hands together.

She helps him sit up before she stars to question him. "What did you steal from Belle?" Emma didn't want to waste anytime hearing his excuses.

"Oi! What makes you think I'm the bloody thief? I was just mindin' me business when I saw somethin' of mine in the front window. So I went in to get it back. Then she goes off tellin' me this stuff has always been in the shop since the first cure. Bloody poor excuse for a shop if they stole from everyone" Will explained in his thick accent.

"Listen, it's a pawn shop. So you either buy something or make a deal for it. You don't steal" Emma said in an exasperated tone. Out of the corner of her eye she finally saw her father pull up in the squad car.

"Emma! What in the world were you thinking? You almost got hit by a car, and our car was still in motion. Do you have any idea what could've happened to you?" David said in a very fatherly, very stern tone.

"Yeah sheriff, don't you know what could've happened?" Will said in a mocking tone. Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"You can shut it!" David snapped, pointing a finger at the man in the handcuffs.

"Really? Can we just put that lecture on hold for a minute and deal with him, please?" Emma gave her father a look pleading for him not to get all fatherly on her when they had a job to do. He gave a slight nod of his head and they both returned their attention to the only consistent criminal Storybrooke has seen.

"Alright listen, you're new here…I think, and I don't want to have to bring you in because of a misunderstanding. Yes, Gold technically 'owns' all the objects in his shop so you just can't steal it. So why don't we go talk to Belle and see what she can do about this. Sound fair?" Emma said, not wanting to have to book him because then she'd have to come in on a Saturday to feed and check up on him. That wasn't on her agenda.

"Fine" was the only word the Knave responded with. David, forcefully, put Will into the back of the squad car. The three of them made their way back to Gold's Pawn Shop. When they go into the shop Belle is standing behind the counter with her hands on the glass and her face focused on the pages of a book.

"Belle, I believe we have something of yours. Isn't that right, will?" David said, pushing him further into the shop.

"It's really mine. Weren't you two listening?" Will said.

"Alright how about we make a deal? Belle is there anything you'd like from Will in exchange for his trinket? Manual labor? Stay out of your hair?" Emma said with a pointed look at Will on that last one.

"Well I could use some help moving some of these boxes around. Help me do some heavy lifting in the shop for a week and we'll call it even, okay?" Belle said.

"Well if the pretty lady insists" Will said with a wink.

"Okay, well if we're all set here we have to get back to patrolling. Belle, call us if he does anything else" Emma finished as they walked out of the shop.

Emma and David returned to the station after finishing their patrol. The clock read 4:30pm on the wall. Emma looked up at her father and just gave him a look. He immediately went to the phone machine and switched the calls. He grabbed his coat and gave her a smile. She loved how in sync they could be sometimes.

**OUAT**

On their way home Emma called Killian and told him to meet her at the apartment. When they pulled up he was waiting outside. Once Emma was out of the car he came over and snaked an arm around her middle and pulled her close. "Miss me, Swan?" He said just before placing a kiss on her lips. David tried to ignore them as he walked up the stairs of the apartment.

He walked into the apartment to find his wife on the ground making a tower out of colored blocks while their son sticks a few in his mouth. Charming takes his jacket off and then bends down and scoops his son into his arms. Neal giggles a little as David holds him over his head and spins around. He brings him back down and kisses his cheek. "How's my little boy doing today?" He asks, knowing his son can't answer him.

"He's doing great. He just woke up from his nap and now we're just playing on the floor. How was your day, sweetheart?" Snow asks in return while getting up and hugging her husband. Charming leans down and gives his wife a loving kiss on the lips.

"Ew! There are children in the room ya know" Emma says as her and Killian finally make it up stairs.

"Excuse me, what were you and him just doing?" David says with a gesture to Killian who still has his arm around Emma. Emma just narrows her eyes at her father before walking over and sitting on the couch with Killian.

"So family, why don't we go to Granny's for dinner?" Snow asks aloud.

"I'm in!" Emma says immediately.

"Of course you're in. If you could you'd eat there every day" David said dryly.

"Hey, they have great food. Who am I to deny my stomach that?" Emma returns.

"Okay then it's settled! Shall we go now?" Snow says in a very eager tone.

"It's not even 5, mom. Do you want to catch the early bird special?" Emma said with a smirk.

"Watch it young lady" Snow said pointing a finger at her daughter. "Fine we can leave here after 5. Does that fit in your schedule better?"

"Yes it does, thanks" Emma replied before turning the television on for her and Killian. TBS was having one of their many FRIENDS marathons. The one where Rachel has a baby was playing and Emma just chuckled to herself for a moment.

"Something funny, love?" Killian inquired.

"Just wait till you hear this woman's laugh" Emma said with a smile on her face. The pair watched the episode in relative silence, only the sounds of their laughter filling the room. David and Snow were playing with their son on the floor, building block towers then knocking them down. Everybody was content.

"Bloody hell, that's an awful noise. No wonder they keep trying to escape her presence" Killian said once he finally heard Janice laugh. Emma just sat there and laughed at his reaction.

"Yeah it's awful, but hilarious. She randomly pops up throughout the seasons. Once you hear someone loudly squawk 'OH MY GOD' you know it's Janice" Emma explained to the behind the times pirate.

The two part episode continued and Killian gave Emma a small shove when Rachel finally decided on a name for her newborn girl. "Would you look at that, Swan. She shares the same name as you" Emma just rolled her eyes.

The episode ended and Emma's stomach began to growl. Did her and her father ever have lunch today? She looked over at her parents to ask if they were ready to go and saw them playing with her little brother. Part of her was so happy that they finally got to do this, but part of her wish she experienced it. Pushing that thought from her mind, Emma spoke up. "Hey, do you guys want to go to Granny's now?"

"Oh is the princess finally ready for dinner?" David asked

"I'm not a-" Emma was going to finish that sentence but then she remembered that she actually was a princess. "Yes, I'm hungry now if you guys would like to go" she finished.

"Yeah hold on, let me just get Neal's bag ready then we can go" Snow said before disappearing into her bedroom. Moments later she re-emerged with a diaper bag fully packed. "Alright, let's go eat!"

The five of them got into Snow's station wagon and drove over to Granny's. Once they arrived Emma noticed her parents give each other a weird look. David turned around to face his daughter and Killian. "Why don't you two go in and get us a booth?"

"Uhh, sure" Emma said with a suspicious look in her eyes. Her and Killian got out of the car and went inside the diner.

"Alright let's get these bags of decorations to the back of the diner" Charming said to his wife.

"Okay, you do that and I'll bring him in and go talk to Ruby" Snow replied with a nod.

The pair split off to take care of their duties. This party was going to be amazing. Emma will never see it coming.

Snow watched Charming head to the back of the diner with his arms full of bags. She finished getting her son out of his car seat and proceed to go into the diner. Snow saw her daughter sitting in a booth and made her way over. "Would you mind getting him into a high chair? I just need to talk to Red real quick"

"Yeah no problem. Come here little bro" Emma said reaching out for her brother with a smile on her face.

Snow walked over to the counter where her best friend was. She motioned for Red to come over and to get close. "Okay, Charming is bringing the decorations in through the back right now. All we all set with the food?" Snow asked her friend in a hushed voice.

"Yup, Granny has that all taken care of. What time are you guys getting here tomorrow?" Red asked.

"Well we're going to spend the morning with her, have some family time and such. Henry said that he and Killian will take her sailing after lunch then they'll bring her by around 4. So David and I should be here around 1 to set up" Snow replied to her friend trying to keep her excitement hidden.

"I can't wait to see her face when she realizes you threw her a surprise party, priceless" Red said with a small laugh.

"She'll love it!" Snow said with determination in her voice.

"Are you sure we're talking about the same girl? She doesn't peg me for a 'surprise' kind of girl, but regardless I'm sure she will love it….eventually" Red said, adding a wink at the end.

"Oh shush. I'll talk to you later. Thank you so much for all of this" Snow said putting her hand over her friends.

"It's no problem, anything for my should-be Goddaughter" Red said with a sad smile. Snow sometimes forgets she wasn't the only one who missed out on Emma growing up.

Snow made her way back over to her family's booth where her husband was now sitting. She paused to take in the scene in front of her. Her husband was sitting across from her daughter and son, making faces at them while Emma tickled her little brother. His laugh was contagious, even Killian was chuckling a bit. This was worth everything they had been through. All the curses and threats were nothing compared to the joy they had now.

She finally made her way to the booth and sat beside her husband. "Is someone being silly?" She said in a voice reserved for her son.

"Yeah, your prince over there is being real 'Charming'" Emma said with a smirk.

"Good one, Em" Her father replied in an unamused tone. She noticed that her father had been calling her that a lot lately. At first she didn't know what to think of it, no one ever really called her that. Nicknames weren't a part of her childhood usually. Part of her enjoyed that her father wanted to give her a little nickname, she was sure he would've if they were around. Emma was also glad that it wasn't something more cheesy. She could handle her name being shortened.

The group ordered and ate their meal while making small talk with one another, nothing big. Killian was in on the whole surprise party thing and was doing a great job at hiding it. Although, Emma wasn't expecting anything. She wasn't even sure if they knew it was her birthday tomorrow.

Emma and David split a brownie sundae while Snow complained about how much sugar they eat and how they should really eat healthier. Once they were finished eating Snow and David gave each other a look, that didn't go unnoticed by their daughter.

"Everything okay you guys?" Emma asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, everything's good. We just need to get your brother home, it's getting late" Lie. Snow didn't enjoy lying to her daughter, but it was for a good cause she decided. They need to take care of some last minute stuff at home before Emma's birthday tomorrow.

"Okay, come on Killian want to watch some Netflix?" Emma asked.

"No!" Snow said, a little too quickly. Emma gave her a look. "Why don't you and Killian hangout for a bit longer with each other. I'm sure you guys are sick of watching tv, right?" Snow said, giving Killian a knowing look.

"Your mother is right, love. Why don't we go for a walk? I'm sure that Netflex thing, whatever it is, will still be there later" Killian finished.

Emma laughed. "It's NetFLIX. It just has a bunch of tv shows and movies you can stream" Emma said, placing a loving hand on Killian's shoulder.

"Why on earth would you want your tv in a stream?" Killian asked in a confused tone.

"No, not like in a stream with water. Streaming is when, uhhh, I'm not sure how to explain this but you basically click on what you want to watch and it automatically plays. Got it now?" Killian just gave a little nod.

"Well we're going to take off. We will see you in the morning, Emma" Snow said, trying to get her husband and son out the door.

"Yeah okay. Dad, we still running tomorrow?" Emma asked.

"Why don't we take the day off and sleep in a bit?" David said, not wanting her to wake up early on her birthday.

"Old man getting tired on me?" Emma said with a smirk.

"Noooo. Don't you want to sleep in? It's the weekend after all, that's your prime sleeping time" David replied to his stubborn daughter.

"Alright, no running tomorrow. We'll pick up on Sunday morning" David just shook his head while smiling. She was a determined girl. Emma hugged her parent's goodnight and they all left the diner going in separate directions.

Emma and Killian began walking hand-in-hand towards the docks, naturally. They walked in relative silence until they came across a bench. Emma led him over and the pair sat down. She was looking up at the stars in the sky. He was just looking at her.

"Do you miss it?" She broke their silence first.

"Miss what, love?" Killian inquired in return.

"Being out there on the ocean" Emma replied, bringing her gaze back down to meet his.

"Aye, I do. It was all I did for a long time. But now I have better things to do" He finished with a small smile. Emma looked at him for a small moment, then she realized he was talking about her. She turned her face away to look out onto the water and away from him. It was something she always did in uncomfortable situations, and he knew it.

The two of them sat there enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. Emma seemed to be focused on the waves coming in and out of shore, and Killian once again was focused on her. It was his time now to break their silent streak.

"Do you miss New York?" Killian probed.

Emma brought her gave down to her hands that were tangled in a knot with each other. She sat there for a long moment before she finally spoke up. "Yes and no," she started. Killian kept quiet, knowing she had to be in control of the talking on this one. "I miss the simple life we had. He went to school, I went to work and we hung out all the time. I really miss just doing simple things with him like baking cookies or going to the park for the afternoon. The craziness of this life is something I didn't want him to come back to," she took a bit of a pause before finishing her thoughts. "But, now that it's quiet here I'm so glad that we came back. I mean life's great right now. I have my parents, Henry, my brother,…you" she finally met his eyes and he noticed they were glistening a bit. "I finally have everything I always wanted in life. I'm finally happy. So as much as I miss my simple life I wouldn't trade it for the world" She finally finished and brought her gaze away, again.

"I'm glad you decided to stay, Swan" Killian said wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close.

"Me too, Killian. Me too" Emma said, leaning her head down on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few more minutes before the sea breeze started to get cold. They got up and made their way back to the Charming family apartment. Emma enjoyed walking through the streets of Storybrooke at night, especially holding hands with her pirate boyfriend. She was finally happy with life.

They made it to the top of the stairs to the very familiar green door. Emma turned and gave Killian a small, girly smile. "Well looks like that's all for tonight, Jones" Emma said in a flirty tone.

"Aye, I shall see you tomorrow though" Kilian said, closing the gap between them and pulling her close.

"You will?" Emma asked, looking up into those bright blue eyes.

"Yes. Henry and I would like to take you sailing with us on your day off. He thought it would be fun to do" He replied, gazing lovingly into her green eyes that occasionally had a hint of blue in them.

"Alright, I'm in. Beats sitting around the apartment all day" She said nonchalantly with a shrug.

"We'll pick you up around noon" And just like that his lips were on hers. His hooked hand around her back and his right hand pulling her face close. She had one hand on his shoulder and the other was making its way through his hair. When his lips finally left hers he gave her a wink and turned and walked down the stairs. "Goodnight, Swan" He called from below.

Emma entered the apartment with a smile on her face. She noticed the bottom floor was silent and dark, except for a small lap in the living room her mother must have left on for her. She was grateful for all the little things her parents did for her ever since they found each other. All the meals made, all the clothes washed, all the hugs and words of encouragement. Every time they put her first she could feel some of her past anger against them drift away. She just wished she always had them.

Putting those thoughts aside, Emma went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face before she made the trek up the steps of the loft. She emerged from the bathroom and walked across the floor to the stairs, she paused and gazed into her parent's room. "Goodnight guys, I love you" She said in a faint whisper. As she ascended the stairs she waved her hand in the air, the downstairs portion of the apartment was suddenly dark. Oh how she loved having magic.

Emma changed into her pajamas, which consisted of one of her bigger t-shirts she has that says either Boston or New York on the front paired with some old mesh shorts. She curled up under her comforter and stared at the ceiling. She was going to be 30 tomorrow. Yet living with her parents made her feel 16 again. What if she was turning 30 before her parents did? Eww, she could not handle actually being older than them. Although, they did technically have 28 frozen years on her. Should she ask them their age? Will they know it's her birthday? Slowly these thoughts drifted away as she fell asleep.

**OUAT**

Emma groaned as she heard someone coming up the steps to her bedroom. She was exhausted and knew for a fact it was probably early in the morning if her mother was waking her up for something. She could hear her parents whispering, well failing at whispering. "Guys it's too early for this" Emma groaned from underneath her covers.

Knowing she was now somewhat coherent her parents started laughing at her. "Rise and shine, princess" She could hear her father say. He ripped the blankets off of her and she gasped.

"What the hell?" Emma said finally turning to them and opening her eyes. Was that pancakes with a candle in them?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!" They both yelled when she finally looked at them. Before Emma could say anything they began to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her as they each took a seat on either side of her bed. She thought her jaw was going fall off her face it was hanging so low. When Snow and David stopped singing her mother chuckled. "You know, at least in the Enchanted Forest, it's customary to blow out the candle once the song is finished" Snow said with a wink at her clearly stunned daughter.

Emma just blinked a couple of time and then got ready to blow out her candle. "Wait! You have to make a wish" Her mother interrupted.

"I'm good" Emma said before blowing her candle out. Her mother and father each wore a huge grin and placed the pancake aside as they gave her a huge hug together. "How did you guys know?" Emma asked, still a bit stunned.

"Sweetie, you came early and there were no drugs back there. How could I ever forget that?" Snow said with a smirk.

"What your mother means is you're our baby girl, of course we know" David said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay first, please don't ever refer to me as that again. And second, thank you guys very much. I wasn't expecting anyone to know. Well except Henry" Emma said looking back and forth between her parents.

"But princess, you are our baby girl" David said pinching her cheek.

"Aww, Charming, look at how big our baby girl is getting" Snow joined in, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulder and facing her husband.

"Guys, seriously?" Emma said, her face pink with embarrassment.

"Oh come on, we missed out on so much. Let us have this one" David said with a pout on his face.

"Yeah, why can't we do something nice for our daughter who we love very much" Snow said, squishing her face with her daughter's.

"Fine. But no funny business today" Emma said, giving her parents a pointed look. They both just nodded. Maybe the surprise party was a bit over the top.

"So why don't we go downstairs and actually have breakfast?" Snow said getting up from her daughter's bed. She reached out her hand to Emma who took it and slowly got out of her bed. Emma went to her dresser and grabbed a hair elastic and threw her hair up into a bun.

David and Snow walked down the stairs ahead of Emma, for good reason. There was a huge pile of gifts waiting for their daughter in the living room and the whole apartment was decorated for her. David and Snow heard her begin to descend the stairs, they had each taken a side on the mound of gifts awaiting their daughter. Emma stopped halfway down the metal staircase and for the second time that morning her jaw dropped. It's as if she was frozen on the stairs.

Emma couldn't believe the scene that was in front of her. There was both of her parents, standing on either side of a pile of gifts. A pile of gifts. The entire loft was decorated as well with 'Happy Birthday' banners with the name EMMA added on to each one. There was also a ton of balloons with strings filling the apartment. There had to have been at least 30 of them. 30. She was now 30. Emma could feel tears sting the back of her eyes.

Her mother noticed her eyes getting watery. "Emma? Are you okay?" Snow said casting a concerning glance on her daughter.

"No one has ever done this for me before" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her parents heard her nonetheless. David and Snow's hearts broke at the thought of their daughter being lonely and neglected as a child.

"Happy birthday, Emma. We love you" Her father said trying to lighten the mood in the apartment. Emma ran over and gave both of her parent's big hugs.

"Thank you guys so much. You really didn't have to do all of this" Emma said, looking back and forth between her parents who were smiling brightly back at her.

"Oh shush, you're our daughter. You deserve so much more than all of this, sweetie. I'm sorry it took us so long to celebrate a birthday with you" Snow ended on a sad note but hugged her daughter tight.

"I love you both" Emma said, giving them a shy smile.

"Alright girls, enough talking. Let's open some gifts!" David said going to take a seat on the couch.

"Yes! Go on and open them, breakfast can wait till after" Snow said in an excited voice, joining her husband on the couch.

"Okay, okay I'm going" Emma felt awkward opening presents in front of people, not that she had many opportunities, but still.

She started with a smaller box up front wrapped neatly with a silver bow on top. She noticed it was from her mother, of course. When she opened it she revealed a very large, red mug with a swan painted on it. "I thought it would be nice to have a bigger mug reserved for your cocoa" Her mother said with a smile.

"Thank you, it's perfect" Emma returned her mother's smile.

The next gift she opened was from her father. He gave her a black North Face running jacket, dark grey cropped leggings, and new Nike running sneakers that matched the outfit. She gave him a huge smile. He smiled back and said "I thought since it's getting colder we should bundle up a bit more during our runs. Don't want to _lose_ any body heat" He finished with a wink. Her smile changed into an eye roll.

She continued to open all the gifts from her parents that consisted of a blanket to keep in her car and new winter jacket from her father. Naturally he got her all of this because of the ice cave incident. Snow got her a simple silver bracelet with her birthstone on it along with new boots and a painting of their castle with their royal crest in the corner.

"Dad, mom, these are incredible. Thank you so much for all of this but you really didn't have to" Emma said as she was surrounded by all these gifts.

"Yes we did, besides there's more!" Snow said with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"More?" Emma questioned.

"Yes, more! Your mother and I have decided to spread out your gifts throughout the day" David said coming over and placing an arm around her shoulder pulling her to his side.

"Yes, but now it's time for breakfast. Then maybe more gifts" Her mother said as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Snow I want to give her mine now. Can I?" David asked with a pleading look on his face.

"Oh fine, but grab mine too and I'll start breakfast!" She said getting the eggs and bacon out of the fridge.

David went into his and Snow's room and brought out, one at a time, two huge packages. Emma gave her father a questioning look. He brought a slender one over to the kitchen table and laid it down. "Okay, open this one first!" He looked so excited it made Emma laugh. She got up and went over to her father who was bouncing on his feet.

"A little excited there, dad?" Emma said, giving his a light shove.

"I've been waiting for this moment for years, don't make me wait any longer. OPEN IT!" Emma did as she was told and took off the wrapping paper revealing a leather case. Emma paused because she had seen this case before. She looked up to her father and he gave her a wink. He didn't. She unlatched the case to reveal a sword. He did. It looked exactly like his. It had the same black and gold design on the hilt, although she noticed on the very end the initials ES were engraved. He got Emma her very own sword to match his.

"Umm, wow. I don't-I'm not really that great with a sword" Emma stammered, not knowing what to say.

"The sword comes with lessons. Lessons you should've received years ago. What do you say, Em?" David said with a somewhat nervous expression.

"I love it! Wow. My own sword. Thank you so much, this is honestly the coolest gift someone's given me. How did you get this?" Emma asked before she hugged her father tightly.

"Don't worry about it" He said with a wink.

"You hurt her during these 'lessons' and you'll be facing me, got it Charming?" Snow yelled from the kitchen, aggressively pointing a spatula at her husband.

"She'll be fine, she's a natural" David said wrapping a loving arm around his daughter's shoulder.

"I'm very serious, Charming. Not a single scratch on her. Got it?!" Snow said, reiterating her point.

"Mom, relax. I can take care of myself" Emma said leaning against her dad who still had his arm around her. They both were giving her their charming grin. Snow just shook her head. They were so much alike.

"I'm serious. No hospital visits for either of you" She had now resumed her breakfast cooking.

"So what's in the other box?" Emma asked, trying to change subjects.

"Oh! Right, Charming come finish breakfast and I'll do this one" Snow said, handing the spatula off to her husband as she got the other box and placed it on the table. "This one is cooler" She whispered to her daughter with a wink.

Emma had a feeling on what it would be and her suspicions were proven true when she opened the box and she pulled out a bow and arrow set. She had an amazed look in her eyes when she saw that the wooden bow had an intricate weaving throughout it and again her initials engraved on it. "Where do you people get this stuff? The royal weaponry store on Main Street?" Emma said as her hands felt along the bow, inspecting the detailed carving.

"I had Gepetto's help on this one" Snow said

"This is beautiful. Look at this!" Emma said, still clearly amazed.

"This also comes with lessons since I'm assuming you don't know how to use one" Snow said plucking an arrow from the sheath.

"No idea. Sword fighting I have some amateur experience with. Ya know, dragons, lost boys, those people things from the Enchanted Forest" Emma said, her eyes still looking over the hand crafted bow.

"DRAGON?" Charming bellowed from the kitchen. "What dragon?"

"The one below the library…" Emma said as if they should know.

"You never told your father?" Snow said chuckling slightly. David looked like he was going pale.

"I guess not. Yeah in order to save Henry from the poison apple, Gold made me go get an egg out of Maleficent. I used your sword. Turns out he just wanted it to restore magic here. I seriously never told you this?" Emma said looking incredulously at her father.

"Wait, was the egg golden?" David asked

"Yeah, why?" Emma replied.

"That little… he made me place that egg in her to begin with. Did you say you used my sword?" It was now David's turn to look incredulously at Emma.

"Yeah he gave it to me. He set that whole thing up" Emma said in a realizing tone.

"How dare he put you in danger like that" David said.

"David, relax. It was 2 years ago. She's fine" Snow chided her husband.

"Right. Good job, Em" He now looked proudly at Emma and gave her a thumbs up.

"Anyway, I think you guys win for coolest parents. A sword along with a bow and arrows? Thank you guys again for doing all of this" Emma said smiling at her parents.

"Stop thanking us, you deserve all this and more" Snow said going over to get breakfast on the table.

**OUAT**

Breakfast was over and done with and everyone was showered and ready for the day. The family of four sat in the living room together and were watching TV when Killian and Henry came bursting into the apartment.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!" Henry yelled as he ran over to hug Emma.

"Thanks, kid" Emma said, breathless.

Killian came over and pulled her close and placed a loving kiss on her lips. "Happy birthday, love" Adding a wink at the end.

"Thank you" Emma said, blushing a little.

"Grandma, gramps, time for gifts?" Henry asked excitedly.

"Sure, Henry" David said, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Here you go, mom" Henry said, shoving a bag towards his mother. She gave him a smile before she took the tissue paper out of the bag and pulled out a dreamcatcher. "I know it was you and dad's thing. He told me once, so consider this one from the both of us"

"Thank you, Henry" Emma said with glistening eyes. She then pulled out a small book out of the bag and saw that it was a photo album. She began to flip through it and it was mostly pictures of her and her family around Storybrooke, but the final few pages were of his as a baby. Emma had always wondered what he looked like when he was younger. "You're the best. Thank you for this, Henry. It's perfect" She said pulling him into a big hug. She hated getting emotional, she would really look through them and cry later.

"I love you, mom" He said still hugging her. "I love you too, kid" She replied releasing the hug.

"My turn, Swan?" Killian inquired.

"You got me something?" Emma asked, a bit shocked.

"Well it is customary for a person to receive gifts on their birthday, or do they not do that in these times?" He gave her that smoldering raised eye brow look that made her weak in the knees.

He handed her two small boxes and a card. She started with the card which said that they would spend a romantic day together all planed and taken care of by him. She got to pick the day but had to tell him 48 hours in advance. "Getting romantic on me, Jones?" Emma asked.

"Aren't I always?" There it was again. One day her knees would actually buckle. She continued on and opened on of the boxes and pulled out a stain glass portrait of a ship on the sea, and on the ship was a lovely swan.

"Is that?"

"The Roger? Yes it is" He answered her unfinished question.

"How the hell did you make this?" Emma asked, stunned at the quality of the portrait.

"I have many talents, love" Killian said.

"That's beautiful, Killian. Emma, let me see it" Her mother said, reaching out for the gift.

Emma continued on to the last and final gift. Once again she tore off the wrapping paper and opened a box. This one actually made her laugh out loud a bit. He had got her a flask with a hook engraved on one side of it. What was with all the engraved items?

"I thought you'd like your own since you're always taking a swig from mine" Killian mused.

"Excuse me?" Charming asked in a stern tone.

"Nothing" Emma said before giving Killian a wink. "Thank you, Killian. You didn't have to get me anything"

"Nonsense, love. It's your day, I live to serve. Now how about some sailing?" Killian said looking over at Henry.

"Yes! Let's go. Bye grandma, bye gramps" Henry said hugging both his grandparents.

"Have fun you three. Be careful!" Charming said ushering them out the front door.

"Alright, time to make a cake and decorate a diner" Snow said rolling up her sleeves.

**OUAT**

Henry and Killian knew they had to take Emma sailing and keep her occupied till their agreed upon time of 4pm for the surprise party. Henry was showing off to his mother all he knew about sailing and Killian just supervised, making sure he did his duty as first mate correctly.

"You'll be a captain in no time, Henry" Killian said, praising him on doing a good job setting up and setting sail. Henry had a huge grin on his face.

As they were sailing out on the ocean Emma began to feel sick. She felt nauseous and her stomach was killing her. Maybe she ate way too much French toast, bacon, and eggs this morning at breakfast and it wasn't sitting well on the rocking ocean. Killian noticed that she had become very quiet on their voyage.

"You alright over there, love?" He asked, casting a concerning glance on her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She replied, not quite meeting his eyes.

"You're not getting seasick on me are you, sailor?" He tried joking with her. That usually made her open up a bit.

"No, I'm not getting seasick, captain" She said in a mocking voice and saluting him.

The rest of their afternoon out on sea went smoothly. Emma still felt like crap, but she could manage it. She enjoying watching her son have so much fun out on the boat and she loved that her and Killian bonded over this. Henry enjoyed hanging out with Killian and Emma couldn't be happier.

It was close to 4 when they made their way back to the docks. While Henry and Killian were tying up the boat and closing everything down, Emma excused herself and said she was going to start the car. By the time she made it to her car she couldn't hold it in anymore, she went over to the grass and threw up. She was so glad no one was there to see it. Her stomach was still bothering her and all she wanted to do was go home and lay down.

The boys finished with the boat and climbed into the bug. Emma was planning on just driving home but Henry kept on insisting they go to Granny's. "Come on, your parents said they would meet us there. We can't stand them up" Henry pleaded.

"Okay, fine. We can go for a bit" Emma said with a sigh. She just wanted to lay down in bed.

**OUAT**

"Okay everyone, there should be here any minute!" Snow said trying to get everyone out of sight. The lights in the diner were turned off and the blinds were closed for good measure.

"She's going to think it's close, Snow" David whispered to his wife as they crouched in a booth close to the door.

"No she won't. She'll barely notice. Besides she's with Henry and Killian and they know what's going on" Snow said to her husband.

A couple of minutes passes and they heard a car door shut outside. Snow's stomach was fluttering with butterflies as she awaited her daughter's arrival. She could hear henry insisting the diner was still open. The door opened and everyone jumped out of their spots and yelled a collective "SURPRISE!"

And surprised she was. Emma's face went beat red and for the third time that day her jaw dropped. She looked down at her son and he gave her a cocky smile. Emma's shocked eyes met her mother's loving ones and Emma couldn't help but smile. Although she absolutely hated surprise parties, or parties in general she knew how badly her parents wanted to celebrate this day. She also loved the idea that someone actually went out of their way to do all of this for her.

Emma made her way over to her parents and hugged both of them together. "You guys are killing me today" She said with a small laugh.

"I love you, sweetheart" He mother whispered in her ear.

"Happy birthday, Em. I love you" Her father added in her other ear.

"Thank you guys, you _really_ didn't have to do this one" Emma said pulling out of the hug and rolling her eyes.

"It was your mother's idea" David said, pointing towards his wife.

"Charming!" She replied, hitting David in the arm. "We both wanted to give you a party. He talked me down from a ball to this, so be grateful" Snow said with a pointed look towards her daughter.

"Thanks, dad" Emma said, chuckling.

Emma got a good look around the diner and noticed it was decorated with a princess theme. Her cake had chocolate frosting and 'Happy Birthday Princess' was written in an elegant script with pink frosting. "Really, guys" She said to her parents, giving an unamused look.

"Oh come on. You're a princess and you would never go for a ball, so this is the best I could do to make up for it!" Snow said.

Emma made her rounds and said hi and thank you to all of the guests. Granny and Red had each given her a gift. Granny made her a knit sweater that matched the color she made Emma's baby blanket out of. Red, meanwhile, got her a very scandalous red dress with black pumps. She hugged them both then made her way over to a booth that Henry, Killian, and David were sitting at. She smiled at the sight of all of her boys together.

"Hey, guys" She said as she sat down next to her father. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The four of them made small talk and ate some of the food that was placed on the counter. Emma didn't each much, and the pain in her abdomen increased since sailing. She really was not feeling well, but she didn't want to leave and ruin the party her family clearly spent a lot of time planning. She could suck it up for them.

The night dragged on as they all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Emma and ate cake. Some of the dwarfs were dancing in the middle of the restaurant and Henry had joined them at one point. She was sitting with her mother, father, brother, and boyfriend and she couldn't think of a better birthday she has had.

"You know, we still have a couple more gifts to give you when we get home" Her mother said.

"Seriously? You guys got me more stuff?" Emma asked in a surprised tone.

"Of course, you're lucky I held her back on a few things. We didn't want to go overboard" David added.

"Oh yeah, wouldn't want you two to go overboard" Emma said sarcastically. She was starting to feel hot and she could tell her cheeks were flushed. It was already past 10pm and Emma was hoping they would leave soon. Henry had already left with Regina at around 9pm. Most guests left, it was down to the Charming family, Killian, the dwarfs, Red, and Granny.

"Doesn't little bro need to go to bed?" Emma asked, trying to go home herself.

"He's okay in his carrier for a bit, why?" Snow asked.

"I just thought he had to be in bed at a certain time" Emma said trying to think of reasons to leave.

Emma felt like she was going to throw up again, she excused herself from the table and walked quickly to the bathroom. Sure enough she threw up again. What was going on with her? She rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands and went back out to the party.

"I'm getting kind of tired. Is it alright if I head home?" Emma asked nervously, she didn't want to seem unappreciative or rude but she really wasn't feeling well.

"Are you feeling alright, Emma? You look a bit pale" Snow said, rising from the booth. _Please don't feel my forehead._ Emma thought. Her mother came over to her and brought the back of her hand up to Emma's forehead. _Great._

"Emma! You feel warm, Killian take her home and we'll be there soon. We just need to clean up a bit" Snow said suddenly becoming concerned.

"I'm fine!" Emma said. She hated when people worried about her.

"Yes, I'll escort the birthday girl home, milady" Killian said, bowing to Snow a bit. "Come on, Swan" He added, putting his arm around her shoulder.

Emma hugged both of her parents and thanked them one final time before walking out the front door with Killian. They made it to the sidewalk when Emma threw up again.

"Emma! Are you alright?" Killian asked, concern lacing every word he said.

"Yeah, I just want to go lay down. My side is killing me" Emma said stumbling a bit. They walked a couple more feet down the side walk before the pain in Emma's side increased greatly and she cried out in pain.

"Emma?!" Killian said. Emma couldn't walk anymore and began to go down to sit on the sidewalk.

"Could you get my parents?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her side felt like something had just exploded and she couldn't tolerate it. She could hear Killian yelling for her parents as her eyes began to close. She had heard her parents yell her name just before her world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Woo new update! It's shorter than the last chapter but I wanted to get this out soon. Hope you are all enjoying yourselves with this story. Thank you to all who review, follow, and favorite. It really means a lot to me. Once again if you have any requests on what you want in this leave a review or PM me. I'm not entirely sure where my end goal is at the moment. I keep getting new ideas so this may be a lengthy fic. Have a good rest of the week everyone!**

* * *

Snow watched her daughter and Killian walk out the front door together. She was worried about her daughter and she felt horrible that Emma felt sick on her birthday. She turned to her husband with concern written all over her face. "David, she doesn't look too good. What if she's coming down with something?"

"She's only human, everyone gets sick once and a while. It's just unfortunate she doesn't feel well on her birthday though" David said in a sad voice. He was about to help clean up the diner when he heard a man yelling outside. A man with a very familiar voice.

"DAVID! SNOW! HELP!" Killian yelled from outside, not wanting to leave Emma's side.

Both parent's heads whipped towards one another with worry etched in their features. Their eyes grew wide as they realized Killian was the man yelling. Emma! They immediately broke out into a run out of the front of the diner. Snow gasped loudly when she saw her daughter on the ground in Killian's arms with her eyes closed. "EMMA!"

"EMMA?" David yelled rushing to his daughter's side, trying to sit her up. "What the hell happened?!" He asked frantically, looking from his daughter to Killian. He looked just as confused as they did. That wasn't good.

"I-I don't know, mate. We walked out here heading towards the apartment. She just threw up out of nowhere and she uh she said that her side was hurting. Then she told me to get you guys and then she just passed out" Killian said in a worried and confused tone. He saw Snow pull out one of those talking phones.

"I'm calling 9-1-1. Hello? Yes, my daughter is passed out in front of Granny's diner. She uh-she threw up apparently said her side hurt then passed out. Right. Yes, she felt warm. Yes, Granny's diner. Thank you very much" Snow hung up the phone and knelt down beside her daughter, brushing the hair away from her face. "Oh my sweet girl" Snow whispered running her hand down her daughter's cheek.

"Well? What did they say?" David asked in a hard voice. He did not like the fact that his daughter was unconscious in front of him for an unknown reason.

"They're on their way. They didn't say much else. I'll go with her in the ambulance while you two drive and meet us at the hospital, okay?" Snow said, already seeing the ambulance lights coming their way.

"I don't want to leave her" David said in a small voice with tears forming in his eyes looking down at his beautiful little girl.

"I know, David. But Killian doesn't know how to drive, it'll be a short ride. Now we need to take care of Neal. I'll be right back" Snow said, reaching out her hand to comfort her husband.

Snow went inside the diner real quick due to the fact her infant son was still in there. "Granny? Red? Something happened and we need to take Emma to the hospital. Could you guys watch him for us while we take care of this?"

"Of course, Snow. What happened? Is Emma okay?" Granny asked already taking Neal out of his car seat and holding him.

"We don't know, she passed out. The ambulance is almost here" Snow said looking out the front of the diner.

"Well go! We can handle this" Red said, giving her friend a little shove towards the door.

"Thank you two so much. I don't know what I'd do without you guys" Snow said, giving them a grateful smile before exiting the diner.

Once Snow returned outside the ambulance arrived and the paramedics strapped Emma to the stretcher quite quickly. Before they put her into the ambulance David kissed his daughter's forehead and said "I love you, Emma. I'll see you soon" David turned to his wife and gave her a big kiss on the lips before she joined their daughter in the ambulance. Their eyes met and they knew it would be okay. No words had to be said for them to comfort one another.

The men got into the station wagon and followed the ambulance to the hospital. After a quick park job they ran to where they were unloading Emma. "Snow, how's Emma?" David asked, clearly out of breath from sprinting from the car. Maybe these runs with his daughter in the morning weren't doing much for him.

"The paramedics think her appendix ruptured" Snow said, she saw Whale making his way towards them. "WHALE! Help her, please!"

"Well that is my job as a doctor. What do we have here?" The paramedics took over and read their chart to him and he nodded and looked Emma over as they were wheeling her into the hospital. He felt her side and grimaced. "Let's get her into an OR now!"

"WHALE?" Snow said catching his arm before he jogged away.

"Her appendix burst, I need to operate now. I'll have a nurse update you once we get going" Whale said before returning to his job.

Snow and David caught up with the gurney before they wheeled her where they weren't allowed. They each said "I love you" to Emma and gave her a kiss on the forehead and then watched her go through the double doors to the OR.

Snow and David finally let their emotions catch up with them and Snow began to cry. She clung to David and he held her tight. "She'll be okay, Snow. She'll be out in no time"

After collecting themselves they rejoined Kilian out in the waiting room. He was sitting there tapping his foot repeatedly and fiddling with his hook. He looked up when then Charming's approached. "Is she going to be alright?" They worry on his face could be seen a mile away.

David put his hand on Killian's shoulder. "They're taking her into surgery now. Her appendix burst and they have to take care of that but she'll be fine" Killian let out a huge breath and his shoulders relaxed.

"Now all we have to do is wait" Snow said while playing with her wedding ring and pacing the waiting room floor.

**OUAT**

Two hours went by and the three of them rotated between sitting, pacing, and asking a nurse for an update. They always received the same generic answer "She's still in surgery and we should hear something soon"

Snow was getting very tired of the lack of answers and threatened to go into the OR herself if they didn't get a real update. She also may or may not have thrown in the fact that her daughter was the Savior and broke the curse. Sure enough one of the nurses returned a few minutes later and said they were still working on her but should be done soon. The nurse handed her a bag filled with Emma's belongings then returned to her desk. That seemed to be a good enough response for Snow to return to the waiting room and read a magazine for a bit.

Charming kept glancing at the clock every five minutes. He was doing the most pacing out of the three of them. "Shouldn't she be done by now?" He asked with a sigh as he wiped a hand over his face. He couldn't take it anymore, he just wanted to see his daughter and see she was okay.

"We will see her soon, David. Don't worry" Snow said trying to comfort her husband by rubbing his upper arm.

"With her as our daughter? All I do is worry about her. We finally have a moment of peace to really become a family and this happens. She can make it through curses, portals, evil queens, Neverland, flying monkeys, and ice caves without landing herself in the hospital. But her appendix, her tiny little useless appendix brings us here? She's my little girl and I hate the thought of her being in pain because of it" David said finally sitting down and putting his head in his hands. Snow came over and sat next her husband and began rubbing circles on his back.

"David, she is going to be just fine and you know it. She's tough, you know her. She'll be wanting to go back home and finish eating her cake when she wakes up" That earned a small laugh from her husband.

"I wonder how long this was bothering her. I mean I know she seemed a bit off at her party but I just assumed it was because she didn't like the attention. Now that we know it was this? Killian did she seem sick earlier?" David asked, looking up at the standing pirate. A look of realization crossed Killian's face at the prince's question.

"As a matter of fact she did look a bit off while we were sailing. I just assumed she got seasick. David, believe me if I had known it was this serious-"

"No, it's not your fault. You know her, she hates people worrying about her. She wouldn't have admitted to this on her own" David finished as Whale came through to the waiting room. They all stood and met the doctor halfway.

"How is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"How long till we can see her?" The three concerned adults said all at once.

"Okay, okay calm down everybody. She's lucky you brought her in right away. A rupture appendix can be tricky, but the surgery was a success. We removed the appendix and cleaned up the mess it made when it ruptured. She's in recovery now before we move her to a private room" Whale said in calm voice.

"So she'll be okay?" Charming asked nervously.

"We'll have to keep her here for a bit to make sure there's no more complications from having her appendix rupture, but other than that she should be all set" Whale told the concerned father.

"Can we go see her?" Snow asked eagerly.

"Why don't I escort the three of you to her room? She should be out of recovery momentarily" Whale said, walking towards the elevator. He brought them to a room that had a lovely view of the woods. There was also a small couch in the room along with two decent sized chairs. Most likely because she was the Savior and royalty, Emma got a private room all to herself.

A couple of minutes later a couple of nurses rolled Emma into her room. Her parent's immediately pulled up chairs on either side of her and held her hands. David had to be cautious because he had the hand with the IV taped to it. Killian took a seat at the end of her bed and put his hand on her leg, wanting to comfort her anyway he could.

"How long do you think until she wakes up?" David asked, not taking his eyes off of his incredibly pale daughter.

"I'd give her 20 minutes max. The anesthesia should be wearing off by now. She'll probably feel a bit groggy when she first wakes up. The medicine is still in her system" Whale replied, looking over her monitors and jotting down some notes on her chart. "Call me when she wakes up. I'll be down the hall doing some paperwork" Whale said before taking off out the door.

"Oh Emma, what are we going to do with you?" Snow said while rubbing circles on the back of her daughter's hand with her thumb.

"She's grounded!" Charming exclaimed.

"Charming, you can't ground her for this" Snow said chuckling at her husband's over-protectiveness.

"Oh yes I can. Snow, she put herself in danger by not telling us she didn't feel well. Things could've been a lot worse for her had we not gotten help right away like we did" David said, starting to get worked up.

"I understand. I'm a bit upset myself, but she's okay now. That is all that matters. No need to dwell on what could've been. We will talk to her and make sure this never happens again, okay?" Snow said trying to reason with her husband.

"Fine. But she's still in trouble. Between this and the woods incident this week, she will be under our supervision until she is cleared to return to work" David said in a stern voice.

"Good luck with that one, mate" Killian chimed in with a small laugh. David gave him a pointed look insisting he go on. "She hates being cared for, you know that. She's the most stubborn woman I've ever met. Just saying this will be an interesting time"

"She'll have no choice but to stay home with us while she recovers" David said with a smirk.

"I'll have to delay my going back to school for a little bit longer to watch over her" Snow said, trying to figure out how this will work.

"I'll have to find someone to help with the station. Killian, you interesting in being a temporary deputy?" David asked.

"I'll be happy to help in any way" Killian said with a small bow of his head.

"Snow, do you think Thomas would be interested in helping out a bit?" David asked, trying to find at least one other person.

"Ella's Thomas? It wouldn't hurt to ask him to help out for a few days. Our kingdoms used to be very close. I'll call them tomorrow morning" Snow said, looking up at the clock and noticing it was past midnight. She tried to stifle a yawn but David noticed.

"Snow, close your eyes for a bit. You're exhausted. We've been running around all day for her party" David said.

"No. I can wait until after she wakes up, which should be soon" Snow said. And just like that they heard their little girl groan and scrunch up her face.

**OUAT**

Emma felt herself being pulled back into consciousness. She could hear voices talking around her. One sounded angry. Who was angry? She felt someone holding her hands, one was rubbing circles on it. Her head felt cloudy and heavy. Her side still hurt, but with a different pain. What was going on? She groaned as she tried to move but she just felt heavy. She felt someone squeeze her hands and she lightly squeezed back.

"Emma? Emma, wake up, sweetie" She could hear her mother say. Emma blinked her eyes open and saw nothing but blurriness. Three blobs made their way into her line of vision. She attempted to sit up but felt hands on either side of her push her back down.

"Woah, not so fast there, Em. Just relax" Her father's voice said. She blinked a few more times and her vision started to clear up.

"Wha-what happened?" Emma asked.

"What do you remember?" Her mother prompted.

"I rem-remember leaving Granny's and my side really hurting. Umm, after that it's pretty much black" Emma said, her head still in a daze.

"And how long has your ide been bothering you?" Her father chimed in.

"Umm, all day" Emma replied, sinking down in her bed a little under her father's gaze.

"Why didn't you tell us, Emma?" He said in a harder tone. He was clearly the most upset.

"I didn't think much of it. Can we have this discussion later? My head is still cloudy" Emma said.

"Of course, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Her mother said in a soft tone.

"My head feels weird and my side still hurts" Emma said.

"Well Dr. Whale removed your appendix, it apparently ruptured outside of Granny's. Killian would you mind getting him please?" Snow asked.

"Of course. I'll be right back, love" Killian said, giving her leg a gentle squeeze. Emma gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry guys. I didn't think it was that bad" Emma said to her parents, feeling guilty for making them worry.

"You really worried us there, Emma. Please, don't ever do that to us again. We're your parent's, just talk to us next time" David said brushing some hair behind her ear. She just gave a small smile in return.

Whale walked into the room with Killian right behind him. "How are we feeling, Miss Swan?"

"Umm, okay. Kind of groggy and tired" She said.

"That'll be the after effects of the anesthesia. Now since your appendix actually ruptured you'll have to stay for another day to make sure you don't get an infection. Other than that you should be good to go" Whale said while looking over her monitors and jotting down some notes.

"So we can take her home tomorrow?" Snow asked, thinking it was Saturday night now, technically Sunday at this point.

"I'd plan on Monday morning the latest, just to be sure" Whale said.

"Ughhh. I don't want to be here. No offense" Emma ended with a sheepish smile.

"No worries, sheriff. Not many people enjoy being in a hospital" Whale said with a smile.

"How long until she can return to work?" David asked. Man, her parents were all over the questions tonight.

"Well since it ruptured it complicates things. The fluid released is toxic to the rest of the body. We believe we go it removed rather quickly so there shouldn't be any infections. She will have to be on antibiotics for 6 to 8 weeks though. Everyone heals with this differently but the average for an appendix that ruptured is usually 2 weeks before returning to work" Whale rattled on.

"Two weeks?! I can't sit at home for two weeks!" Emma said hysterically.

"Sorry Miss Swan, but you will still feel some symptoms of appendicitis for a few days, maybe even weeks. It all depends on the person. Your side will hurt, naturally, due to the surgery you had. You may still feel nauseous and may run a fever. You also may have some bowel problems because of this" Emma's cheeks reddened at the word bowel.

"We will make sure she follows her recovery, right David?" Snow asked her husband with a pointed look.

"Oh yes we will. You in, Killian?" David asked Killian with an amused glance.

"Of course, mate. Swan will make a full recovery under our watch" Killian looked at Emma and winked. She did not seem amused by them at all. Whale's beeper went off and he excused himself from the room saying he'd be back to check on Emma in the morning.

"You guys know I can take care of myself right?" Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, sweetie, if that was the case we wouldn't be in this deep of a mess now would we?" Emma didn't meet her mother's eyes.

"While we are on the subject Emma, you're grounded until you are cleared to return to work" David said, also crossing his arms over his chest.

"Grounded? I just turned 30 and you want to ground me?" Emma said with a horrified look in her eyes.

"Yes. You disobeyed me and ended up lost in the woods. Then you were too stubborn to talk to your mother and me and say you weren't feeling well and ended up here. You are our child still so we are taking action in your life as we have a right to" David said with a stern tone to his voice.

"How the hell are you going to ground me?" Emma asked, intrigued to see how her parents would go about this. She watched as her parents looked at one another and had one of their silent conversations. Snow nodded towards David and he cleared his throat.

"You will be under constant supervision of either Killian, your mother, or myself. There will be limited TV time. You will listen to us and follow the doctor's orders. You will not take advantage of Killian because he is your boyfriend. During this period you will respect his as you would your mother or me and listen to him. Killian, don't let her push you around just because she's sick. Emma, do I make myself clear?" David finished with a pointed look at his daughter.

"Yes, dad" Emma said in a defeated tone. Damn they were taking this very seriously.

"Good" he said with a sigh. "We're just looking out for you, Em. Your health is at risk here so just please be good and follow through with this. It won't be that bad, it'll be over before you know it" David added in a softer tone.

"I know. I'm sorry you guys" Emma said as she was playing with hospital blanket.

"Would you care for any water or that nasty wiggly stuff they serve here, love?" Killian asked, wanting this conversation to move on.

"You mean jello? No thank you, I'm good for now. I'm kind of tired though" Emma said with a yawn. Perfect timing.

"Go to sleep, Emma. You've had a long day" Her mother said, running her fingers through Emma's long blonde hair.

"Yeah I think I will. Wait where are you guys staying?" Emma asked, realizing that there isn't another bed in here.

"Well, I was going to take a leave and return in the morning if that's alright" Killian had said.

"Yeah that's no problem. I don't want to keep you here" Emma replied. He walked towards her and kissed her hand.

"I'm glad you're alright, love. I'll see you soon. Sleep well" Killian said before saying goodbye to the Charming's.

"Goodnight, Killian" Emma called as he was walking out the door. "Alright, what about you two? Someone has to take care of Neal"

"He's all set for the night. I called Granny while you were in surgery, it's no problem. I'll get him in the morning. So your father and I are here for the night" Snow said with a smile at her daughter.

"Thank you guys. You really don't have to stay though" Emma said. In all honesty hospitals freaked her out and she was so happy that her parents wouldn't be leaving her just yet.

"It's no problem, Em. We love you and you shouldn't have to stay here alone" David said, once again taking her hand being careful of the IV in it.

"Go to sleep, sweetie" Her mother said, resuming running her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Goodnight you guys. I love you, thank you for today. It was the best birthday I've ever had" Emma said starting to drift off.

"Best birthday? Your appendix exploded" David said with a laugh.

"This was my best birthday because I have you guys" Emma said before her eyes closed.

David and Snow exchanged a watery expression at their daughter's confession. They were so happy to have made this a good day for her in spite of everything that happened. Both parents got up and kissed either side of her forehead at the same time and whispered "I love you" before resuming their places next to her. They watched as their daughter fell asleep, happy to have her in their lives fully.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Don't worry I'm not giving up on this. But uhh Comic-Con! Am I right? so freaking pumped for season 5 now! I won't give anything away but it looks promising! Hope you are all having a great summer. Thanks for everything you guys!**

* * *

To say that Emma Swan didn't sleep peacefully would be an understatement. She was a side sleeper and guess what she couldn't do now because of this? Sleep on her damn side. Every time she went to turn over she would grunt in pain. One of her parents would end up waking up and ask her time and time again if she was okay. After about the fourth time of Emma doing this her mother called the nurse in and asked for more pain medication. That just about knocked her on her ass and let her get a couple hours of restful sleep.

It was around 8 am by the time a nurse came by with some breakfast for Emma. There was a tray with some plain toast and scrambled eggs on the side. As hungry as Emma usually is she felt like should couldn't eat anything. The medication really had an effect on her.

"Em, you have to eat something," David said pushing the tray closer to his daughter.

"But I'm not hungry," She replied pushing the tray away from her. Snow laughed and watched as this went on for about 3 minutes before stepping in.

"Emma, please. At least eat some of the toast. It's not good for you to have an empty stomach with all this medication," Snow said in a soft tone, making eye contact to break her daughter down. And just like that Emma rolled her eyes then picked up a piece of toast and began to nibble at it. Snow smiled triumphantly. "Okay well, Granny and Red need a break from my other child so I'm going to go take care of him for a bit. I'll be back soon, Emma. Feel better," Snow leaned down and kissed Emma's forehead. Snow then turned a pointed glare at her husband. "Take care of her, David. Don't give in to her."

David put on a mocked hurt face and winked at his daughter before turning to his wife. "Me? Give in to her? Never! Snow, relax she's in good hands. Plus we're in a hospital, I can always call a nurse if it looks like something is up," he ended with a look towards his daughter who sank a little in her bed.

"Bye, Emma. Your father and I will switch at lunchtime. I'll grab you some clothes from home to make you more comfortable, okay?" Emma nodded as she watched her mother walk out of her room. As much as she wanted both parents with her now she knew that a hospital wasn't the best hangout spot for an infant.

"So, when are you breaking me out of this place?" Emma asked her father with a smirk on her face.

"Ohhhhh no. You just heard your mother. She'll kill me, and then you, and then me again if anything else happens to you. No, we are staying put. How about you eat some more and then we can find something on the TV to watch?" David asked, once again pushing the tray of food towards his daughter.

"But dadddddyyy" Emma said with a pout and puppy dog eyes. She slowly pushed the tray away from her.

"That's not fair and you know it. Do you want to be in here longer?" David said in a warning tone.

"No" Emma said crossing her arms over her chest, being careful of the IV stuck in her left hand.

"Then please be a good girl for your loving parents and do as your told, Emma" David took Emma's hand and began rubbing circles on the back of it.

"Ugghh, fine. Give me the toast" Emma said taking her hand back from her father.

"That's my girl" David smiled as Emma continued to eat her food. He was proud that he didn't buckle under those puppy dog eyes and the use of the word 'daddy' against him.

David texted Snow telling her of his accomplishment as his daughter finished most of her breakfast, eggs included. They turned the TV on spent a good chunk of time trying to find something entertaining to watch at 8:30 in the morning. Thankfully USA was playing a _Jurassic Park_ movie marathon in honor of the new _Jurassic World_ movie coming out soon.

"Aww sweet! I love these movies" Emma exclaimed.

"What are these?" David inquired.

"Well it's a series of movies where people try to bring back the dinosaur race. It never really turns out well. They're wicked entertaining to watch though" Emma said to her father who was very uncultured when it came to TV and movies.

The pair were quickly engrossed in the movie. David looked like he was really enjoying this movie and it brought a small smile to Emma's face. She really enjoyed these small moments with her parents. It came to a quiet part and Emma knew that something would be popping out soon. She watched her father out of the corner of her eye as a dinosaur popped out and scared him. He jumped in his seat and Emma burst out laughing. "Oh, shit!" She said as she clutched her side and let out a small whimper of pain.

"Emma? What's wrong? Are you okay?" David quickly stood and looked as if he was going to run out and get a nurse at any moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Laughing isn't a good idea when you have a 3 inch incision in your side" She gave a breathless laugh to try and calm her father down.

"Are you sure? Want me to get a nurse to get you more pain medicine?" The worry and concern in her father's eyes was sweet but she could tell this was going to get annoying fast.

"Yes, dad. I'm okay. Just don't be such a wimp anymore" Emma said with a wink.

"Hey! That dinosaur came out of nowhere" David tried to defend himself.

"That's what they all say" Emma replied, grinning widely at her father.

"Good morning Miss Swan. How are we feeling today?" Whale asked with a cheery smile on his face.

"Better" Emma said, not wanting to elaborate.

"Could you please elaborate on that?" Whale asked. Emma gave a slight roll of her eyes.

"Umm, well, I'm sore. I feel foggy and I would like to go home" Emma said truthfully.

"You'll get there. You had major surgery last night. You need some time to recover. Don't worry, I won't keep you here longer than I have to, Emma" Whale said. He went over and checked her IV and monitors. He also checked her incision and saw that it looked good.

"Hey Whale, while you're here we have a question for you" David said as Emma gave him a quizzical look.

"We do?" Emma inquired.

"Yes. So Whale, Emma and I recently discovered that we both had childhood asthma. The other day we were running in the cold rain and we both had a bit of a flare up. Any chance you could prescribe us inhalers?" David asked hopefully. Emma was pleased that he kept to his word and wasn't sharing this with Snow immediately. At this point she was go overboard taking care of Emma and she wasn't sure she could handle that much smothering right now.

"Uhh, yeah I could do that. Let me just check you over and ask a few questions" Whale said. He proceeded to do a work up on them and ask them routine questions. With a final 'see you later' he stepped out of the room and said he'd have the prescription written up in a bit.

"Well that was easier than I thought" Emma said to her father.

"You know your mother will find out eventually, right?" David asked with a chuckle.

"But when that time rolls around I can just say I've always had the inhaler. Then she'll be proud that I actually took care of myself throughout my oh so troubled childhood. It's an inspiring story, really" Emma said jokingly.

"You're too much you know that?" David laughed.

"Yeah well, I'm the very best mixture of you guys" Emma said with a smirk.

"You get your more charming qualities from me" David said to his daughter with a wink.

"Gosh that was cheesy. I'm glad I don't get that from you" Emma replied, laughing a bit.

"But you do get your goldilocks from me, princess" He tugged on a lock of her hair for emphasis. She batted his hand away and gave him and unamused look.

"Please tell me she isn't real too. And you're not even this blonde. Are you sure you have the right kid? I mean it has been a while…" Emma said as her tone got higher.

"Hmm, that all depends. Do you still have that birthmark on your-"

"Oh my goodness! How the hell do you remember that? You know what, don't answer that" Emma said as her cheeks went pink with embarrassment.

"You're my little girl, Em. I know" David said placing his pointer finger to his temple.

"That's creepy" Emma said, still mortified.

"You were the cutest little baby and you were about to be taken from me. I tried to memorize how you looked because that was my only chance" David said in a sadder tone.

"I'm sorry. It's just that not many people know about that or where it is for that matter" Emma said.

"Where what is?" Snow said as she entered the room with a bag slung over her shoulder, probably containing Emma's things.

"Mom? You're back early" Emma said, taken back from her mother's surprise entrance. She watched as her parents hugged one another and shared a quick kiss. It was sweet how in love they were with one another. Emma wouldn't admit this out loud but she truly admires their relationship.

"I ran into Belle and she said she had no problem watching him for the afternoon while I was here. So I gave her some instructions and packed a bag for you and here I am!" Snow said with enthusiasm.

"To answer your question, dear. We were just talking about Emma's birthmark" David said pulling the other chair over for his wife.

"Oh you mean the one on her-"

"GUYS!" The pink quickly returned to Emma's cheeks.

"Oh lighten up, Emma. We're your parents" Snow said placing a hand on her daughters. "So what have you two been up to? Have you eaten, Emma? Charming did you make sure that she ate? Has Whale come by at all? How are you feeling? Do you need any medication? Should I get a nurse?"

"Mom! Relax, I'm fine. I ate. Whale already came by. Dad's not giving in and breaking me out of here. It's all good" Emma said trying to calm down her clearly hysterical mother.

"She's doing just fine, Snow. Whale said everything looked good. He checked her incision and it's not infected so that's a good sign" David concurred with his daughter.

"Okay good! I knew you guys would be fine" Snow said, visibly relaxing a bit. The family looked towards the door as Dr. Whale was walking in looking down at his clipboard.

"Good new, your inhalers should be ready along with Emma's antibiotics when she's released tomorrow morning" Whale said.

"Inhalers?" Snow inquired.

"Yeah for David and Emma, for their asthma" Whale said looking at a pale faced David and wide eyed Emma.

"Whale could you give us a moment, please?" Snow asked calmly. Whale nodded and then walked out with a knowing look on his face. Snow stood up and crossed her arms over her chest and was looking down at the floor. She was quite for a few moments as if she was piecing something together. "Does someone want to tell me what he's talking about. Because I know that you, David, wouldn't keep something about my daughter's health from me. My daughter on the other hand has a great track record with that." Snow finished with a deadly glare at her daughter who was slowly sinking into her hospital bed and looking like the little girl they never got to know.

"Snow-"

"Don't 'Snow' me. How dare you not tell me about this? I'm her mother! I think I deserve to know this stuff! Especially when it concerns her health and she's already sitting in a hospital bed." Snow noticed Emma sinking further into the hospital bed and pulling the covers up towards her face. Snow turned towards her. "And I know you're not innocent in this, Emma. What promise did you make for him not to tell me? Huh David, what did she do to have you keep this from me? Did she give you her puppy dog face? Did she beg for you not to tell me and you just caved in front of her?"

"Mom, I'm sorry. It's not his fault and it's not that big of a deal." Emma tried to defend.

"I don't want to hear it! Is that why you came home early from your run the other day? Did you have an asthma attack, Emma?" Snow asked pointedly.

"Not fully. When I slipped and fell I got the wind knocked out of me and I thought I was going to have one but I didn't. See no harm done, mom." Emma said in a light tone.

"Oh well thank goodness for that! What do you have to say for yourself, David? How could you be so irresponsible?" Snow now directed her attention towards her quiet husband.

"Hey now hold on there. We talked to a doctor that we had planned on going to together on Monday anyway and we are all set. Nothing bad happened so we can all calm down." David really didn't want this to blow up any further.

"Why would you guys keep this from me?" Snow asked in a bit of a hurt tone. Neither her daughter nor husband chose to speak up right away. She saw them exchange a look and then to her surprise Emma began to speak.

"I didn't want you to freak out and add another thing for you to worry about. I mean Neal is a handful enough for you-"

"Don't drag your little brother into this. You're my child too. I wouldn't have had another child if I couldn't handle it." Snow defended.

"Okay fine, you get a little over bearing when it comes to stuff like this. If I were to cough you'd be on my case about taking the damn thing. It's honestly not bad, it hasn't affected me in nearly 10 years. It's not that big of a deal, I promise. Plus aren't you a little proud we were going to take care of it ourselves?" Emma said jokingly.

"Oh no. you aren't getting out of it that easily. But yes, thank you for finally being somewhat responsible about your health this week." Snow said accusingly.

"I'll never live this down." Emma grumbled.

"No you won't! Because of your incredible stubbornness look where you are. You're in a hospital and looking at a minimum of 2 weeks on the couch. You know what I should add another for pulling a stunt like this. Emma Swan you are grounded for another week." Snow said in an authoritative tone.

"What? No! I'm an adult you can't ground me." Emma said defiantly.

"Well you sure aren't acting like it. You may be an adult but you're my kid and what I say goes. You live under my roof you live by my rules, Emma." Snow felt like she had waited a lifetime just to say that. She had to admit it felt pretty good. Snow was finally getting her shot at doing all the cliché mother stuff to Emma.

"You are totally overreacting." Emma said with a huff while crossing her arms over her chest. "What about, dad?"

"Hey!" David said, smacking his daughter on the arm with the back of his hand.

"What? We both know she's pissed at you too." Emma defended, rubbing her arm.

"Oh don't worry. Your father will be plenty busy between taking your shift at the station along with taking care of you when we get home. You see, Emma, you'll be staying in our room downstairs for the first week so you're not going up and down stairs all the time, and lucky for you your father will be right there on the couch when you need him." Snow said.

"Snow, come on." David pleaded.

"Nope, you want to keep secrets about her health from me? You can be there for her downstairs while I'm upstairs in her big comfy bed. Now I'm going to go see what they're serving you for lunch and maybe grab myself some food." Snow said before she turned swiftly and walked out of the room.

"Well, at least she didn't yell." Emma said in a sheepish tone.

"Oh boy." David said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry for getting you into this mess." Emma offered. She honestly felt bad for getting her father into trouble with her mother.

"It's not your fault. I should've told her sooner." David said. He was regretting his decision.

"I just didn't want her going all helicopter mom on me." David looked at her with a confused look. "You know, a hover mom? Always watching what you're doing and being overbearing."

"She just cares about you, Em. We missed out on a lot and we just want to make up for it. We're still learning to be parents here." David said in a softer tone.

"Yeah I know. I guess I'm still getting used to people looking out for me. Not very many people cared enough to." Emma said with a shrug.

"Well get used to it, princess." David said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You sure enjoy calling me that, don't you?" Emma said in fake annoyance.

"You betcha, princess." Emma gave an eye roll and hit her father's arm.

"How long do you think she'll be mad at us?" Emma asked cautiously.

"I'm not sure, but you're in double trouble with her. Between this and well this." He said motioning to her current whereabouts.

"Yeah, I'm in deep shit with her." David smacked her arm and gave her a stern look.

"Language, missy." He scolded.

"Oh, sorry." Emma help up her hands in a mock surrender. Snow made her way back into her daughter's hospital room carrying a tray in one hand and two brown bags in the other.

"Here's your lunch, Emma. Sorry, they're giving you bland foods to make sure you can digest them. But I did manage to get them to give you some juice." Emma took the tray and opened it to find a peanut butter sandwich with some green jello on the side. It wasn't the worst thing to eat that they could've given her. "And here's a burger for you and a Coke." Snow gave one of the brown bags to her husband.

"Thank you" The pair said in unison.

"No problem. Someone needs to take care of you two." She ended with a wink. Emma and David gave one another a confused look.

"So you're not mad anymore?" Emma asked timidly.

"Oh no, I'm still mad at the both of you. Lucky for you two my motherly duties come first, so eat up." Emma and David both kept quiet while they ate their lunch. Emma ate her sandwich very slowly due to her pain meds making her feel nauseous. She noticed her mother glancing over at her every time she out her sandwich down on her plate. Emma tried pushing the plate away from her at one point but Snow was quick to push it right back at her.

"Emma, honey, you need to eat a bit more of your lunch." Snow said in a stern tone. Emma huffed before continuing to eat her food. After a small struggle of opening her cup of jello, Emma gave a big yawn.

"Why don't you take a little nap, Em? You must be tired." David said after he noticed his daughter yawn and rub her eyes.

"No I'm okay." Emma replied quickly. Even though she was exhausted she didn't want to fall asleep in her hospital room. She wanted to get out of here now and just go home to her bed. Hospitals weren't really her thing. Too many bad memories from her childhood from being examined after bad foster homes. She would always be alone and scared because nobody would tell her what was going on. She'd have to wait by herself until a social worker came, which usually took a very long time.

Snow noticed Emma's sudden mood change. "Everything alright?" Snow prodded.

"Yeah, just not tired." And with great timing came another yawn out of Emma's mouth.

"Oh yeah, you don't look tired at all." David chimed in with some sarcasm. Emma just gave her father an unamused look. Charming gave his daughter a wink in return.

"Emma, get some rest. We'll be right here when you wake up. We won't leave you here alone." Snow said brushing some hair behind Emma's ear. _Damn,_ Emma thought, _am I really that readable right now? All this medication is making me soft._

Before she could think about a response she felt her eyes flutter shut. The exhaustion of the previous events finally catching up to her. She felt both her parents press a kiss to either side of her forehead and a small smile played at her lips. She heard her father whisper, "Sleep tight, princess" before she was pulled into a deep slumber.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Umm sorry for the delay. It won't happen again. I hope you enjoy! Thank you guys for everything. I love you!**

* * *

Emma woke up a couple of hours later to find her favorite pirate and her son in her hospital room. Apparently her parents went home really quick to get it ready for her return. Although, Emma didn't think there was much prepping to be done in that teeny tiny apartment? Was there? All she really had to do, thanks to the doctor's orders, was sit on the couch and not do much, but knowing her mother she'd rearrange the entire house for her to make it even more comfortable. This was going to be a long few weeks and Emma didn't know if she would be able to handle all the hovering her mother was going to do. Emma couldn't wait for the day that Whale cleared her to go back to work because she knew that neither of her parents would let her back to the station until a professional cleared her. Emma also couldn't until this pain in her side went away.

Killian had called the Charming's to let them know Emma has woken up. In the meantime Henry had brought some cards with him so he and Emma were currently playing war. It was a game of pure luck of the draw but that didn't stop Emma from being fiercely competitive. Once Henry captured her last card she demanded a rematch. Blaming her bad game on her current wacked out condition. Because the medicine coursing through her veins had to do with the hand she was dealt.

Killian watched on with a slight grin on his face as Emma was becoming more herself as the day went on. He was downright terrified when she had collapsed in his arms and refused to awaken. The pit in his stomach lessened when she finally woke up after surgery, but she still seemed very much out of it. Her parents, well mostly her mother, had filled Killian in on the whole asthma ordeal. David looked rather guilty the entire time. Luckily now, though, she was getting back to her old self. These next few weeks would be crucial for her recovery, and from now on he was going to keep an even closer eye on his Swan. Nothing like that would ever happen again on his watch.

Later on in the evening, the Charming couple made their way back to the hospital when everything was taken care of at the house. Snow immediately asked Emma at least a million times how she was feeling. And every time she did, Emma would answer with an eye roll and a wave of her hand insisting she was fine.

The family spent the rest of the night alternating between watching TV and playing card games. David and Emma were both very competitive and were giving one anther a run for their money. Snow couldn't help but laugh when Emma put up a fuss over her father beating her in go-fish, once again blaming the medicine the doctors had her on.

Soon visiting hours came to a close and Killian insisted on bringing Henry back to Regina's for the night. Snow and David were both planning on spending the night again but Emma kept insisting on at least her mother going and spending the night at home with her little brother while her father stayed with her. Emma could see how torn her mother was over leaving one child for the other. She knew her mother wanted to be with both her children but sadly the hospital was not a good place for a small baby to be hanging out in. Snow still held some guilt with her ever since Emma ran away when her magic was just a tad out of control. It was very evident that Snow tried to make it up to her daughter every time she could.

Finally, after the hundredth time of Emma complaining she was old enough to take care of herself Snow caved and decided to go home to her son. However before she did, Snow gave both her husband a stern lecture that nothing else better happen tonight while she wasn't around. Once they both fully and seriously agreed to that Snow stayed until her daughter fell asleep.

The next morning Emma woke up feeling awful. Her side was incredibly sore and she just all around felt like crap. She really needed to shower, she hated the stupid hospital smell, and she was sick and tired of all the attention on her. She knew that wouldn't stop when she finally went home later this morning, but at least nurses and doctors wouldn't be around all the time at her house.

Emma struggled to sit up, but once she finally did she noticed her father was no longer in the room with her. Slight panic rose into her chest, thinking back to all the times she was left alone as a child. She was sometimes left alone in similar situations. Rationally, she knew this wasn't the case. Sadly there was still that little seed of doubt that would grow a bit every time she was reminded of her past. Like when Ingrid was in town and Emma's interrogation didn't go as planned. Emma cringed at the memory.

Before she knew what she was doing Emma was attempting to get out of bed. Her feet touched the cold floor and she couldn't hold back a gasp. With her left hand she held onto the metal pole that hung her IV that was still attached to her hand, with her right hand she held her side. She began to cross her hospital room to go check the hallway for her father. She noticed that she was walking weirdly because of her damn side. This was incredibly frustrating for her.

When Emma finally made it to the door of her room she looked out to the left and saw no one. Her chest tightened with panic. Just as she was about to turn her head to the right she heard her father's voice yell her name. Her face visibly lit up when she saw her father walking quickly towards her. He was holding a box of donuts, no doubt for his little princess who was hopefully being released this morning.

David made it to his daughter in no time and immediately set the box of donuts down and helped his daughter back to bed. "What on earth are you doing, Emma?"

"I just…well you weren't here when I woke up." She simply stated.

"I know, I wanted to surprise you with a bear claw when you woke up. Sorry that I took so long, everyone's been asking about you." David said with a small smile. It touched his heart that people were worried about his daughter. By the look on his daughters face she was touched as well.

"Wait, really? Like who?" Emma was shocked that people were asking her father how she was doing. She wasn't surprised that word got out about her appendix rupturing, it did happen right outside of Granny's.

"Well Granny and Red, naturally. Marco, Leroy, Aurora, Ella and Thomas, and one of the guys I used to work with at the animal shelter." David said counting off each individual with his fingers.

Emma didn't really know what to say at this. It still baffled her that she had people in her life that cared. Getting used to having parents was one thing, but now? People around town actually caring about her health. A lump formed in her throat and her father must have noticed because after he pulled the blanket over Emma he reached for the box of donuts.

"Now, don't tell your mother, but I think you deserve a treat this morning after everything you've gone through these past few days." A genuine smiled formed on Emma's face as she took the one and only bear claw in the half dozen box of donuts.

"What are you going to tell her when she comes in and sees a box of donuts with one missing?" Emma inquired.

"Oh, the rest of these are for the nurses and doctors who treated you. A little thank you to them for taking good care of my girl." David winked as he got up and left the room. Emma could hear him talking at the nurse's station down the hall and she couldn't help but laugh. Man, she would have been spoiled rotten had she grown up with her parents. Her father definitely would have snuck her treats all the time, especially if she was sick.

Emma was still looking in awe at the door where he father exited a few minutes ago when he walked back in. "Please finish that before your mother gets here. She'll be upset I'm breaking your new diet already."

"Wait, new diet? Since when am I on a diet?" Emma asked after taking a huge bite of her breakfast.

"Oh, umm….your mother wants you to eat healthier foods now. She's uhh, going to cut down on your sugar intake. Sorry, Em." Her father finished with a grimace as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"She thinks my "sugar intake" caused my appendix to flare up?" Yes, Emma indeed put air quotes around the phrase sugar intake. She did not feel like she ate a lot of sugar in her daily meals, but apparently her mother thought otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." David said checking the clock on the wall. He encouraged Emma to keep eating her breakfast so she could finish before Snow came. He was supposed to call her when Emma woke up.

"She's ridiculous. Completely insane. She's driving me crazy already." Emma ranted through a mouthful of bear claw. She wanted to enjoy this because apparently she was getting bland healthy food from here on out. Or until she was well enough to not have her parents watch her every move.

"She just cares about you. Hearing Killian calling for us then seeing you unconscious on the sidewalk was not something we ever wanted to happen. You had us worried sick, kiddo." David rubbed the side of Emma's arm in an affectionate way. He noticed his daughter cast her glance downward, avoiding eye contact. He stood up a bit and kissed her forehead, but not continuing the conversation further. David didn't want to push her any more, especially since she was so vulnerable right now. She was okay and that was all that mattered.

Emma gave her father a small but grateful smile when she noticed he backed off a bit. She knows she worried them and she feels guilty for putting them through that. Sadly she still wasn't at a place where she could express her feelings freely. She was slowly but surely getting there, but not quite yet. So she continued to eat the bear claw her father kindly got her.

About 15 minutes later Snow showed up with a bag that had a change of clothes for Emma and a bright smile on her face. Emma was grateful for the sweatpants and V-neck her mother brought her. Shortly after Snow arrived a nurse came by and took out Emma's IV and checked her vitals and incision stating that it looked okay so far. There was still some swelling around it and as usual with cases that rupture, there was a little puss on the edge. Luckily the antibiotics seems to be working and it isn't bad. The nurse also said the doctor would be by soon to write out a prescription and release her from the hospital.

Snow's smile grew even brighter as she asked about her family's morning once the nurse left the room. David told her how he got the nursing staff donuts this morning and how Emma slept pretty peacefully after waking up a couple times early on in the night.

Emma felt a smile spread across her face when she saw Whale enter her room carrying a clipboard. "So I really get to leave?" Emma rushed out.

"Yes Miss Swan, you get to leave. Everything is looking good and I trust your parents to help you follow through with your at home care for the next couple of weeks." Whale said, handing a pamphlet to Snow outlining a care plan for Emma. "No heavy lifting, lots of rest, no heavy foods, and no sodas for a few weeks. In a couple of days begin walking daily to get the blood flowing. We are going to give you multiple gauze pads to keep your incision site covered until we remove your stitches in about 10 days. Also keep an eye on the puss around it. If it gets worse let us know, but the antibiotics seem to be doing their job so far. Any questions or concerns you may have feel free to give us a call. Now just sign this and you'll be on your way!"

Snow signed Emma's discharge papers under the parent/guardian line and she never felt better. She was finally apart of her daughter's life and doing stuff for her. Yeah, signing a hospital discharge paper wasn't high on her list of milestones, but it was something to prove her daughter wasn't alone anymore.

Once all the paperwork was said and done, David escorted Emma to the bathroom so she could change. Snow called Henry to tell him that they were just about ready to head home. They had let him take the day off from school since he didn't get to see her much while she was in the hospital. Henry and Killian were currently waiting at the apartment for Emma. Snow may have convinced them to decorate the apartment a little bit to help welcome Emma home. Was it going overboard? To Emma, probably. But for Snow it was something she felt needed to be done for her daughter, who just had surgery, after collapsing.

A nurse came into the room with a wheelchair to take Emma out of the hospital. Emma emerged from the bathroom and immediately groaned. "I'm not going in that!" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her parents with a fire in her eyes. She had hit her limit.

"Emma don't be ridiculous. It's hospital policy." Snow said with a giggle in her tone.

"I don't care. I can walk perfectly fine. Thank you very much but that is not needed here." Emma directed towards the nurse. She seemed young and just continued to stand there. Unsure of what to do in this circumstance.

"Emma, you're going in the wheelchair to the front door and then you'll get in the car. How simple is that?" Snow tried to reason with her incredibly stubborn daughter.

"If it's so simple then why can't I just walk out the front door?" Emma stated with attitude in her voice. She knew she was bugging her mother but she really didn't want people seeing her being wheeled out of the hospital.

"Emma Swan get in the damn wheelchair!" David said in a very stern, very annoyed voice. Emma looked at him with a bit of fear in her eyes before going to sit down in the wheelchair. "Thank you." Her father finished with a sigh. Buy was his daughter stubborn.

The nurse directed the Charming family to the hospitals exit as Emma tried to keep her head down. She wasn't really the attention seeking type. Once they made it to the automatic doors, David took the keys from Snow and rushed off to go get the car. The sooner they got home the better, for Emma's sake at least.

"You feeling okay, Emma?" Snow asked, placing a loving hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Yup, just can't wait to finally be home and in bed." Emma said dismissively. If she were to indicate in any way that she wasn't feeling well her mother would be all over her. Just last week her mother went nuts when she found out Emma had shin splints. Those were nothing compared to this.

David finally pulled up with the truck and helped his daughter get into the cab of the truck. She sat in the middle seat between her mother and father. For just this moment she felt safe.

"Well I'm very glad you finally get to come home too. Let's never do this again, shall we?" Snow tried to lighten the mood a bit. Even though her daughter tried, Snow could tell she was still hurting quite a bit. She wished Emma would open up enough to be totally honest with them. They just wanted to help and make her feel better after all.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. No promises." Emma said with a smirk towards her mother.

"I'm serious, Emma. No more jumping off ships, no more getting trapped in ice caves, no more time portals, and no more hiding stuff from us about your health." Snow said getting a little teary eyed at her daughter.

"Most of the items on that list weren't really my fault to be fair here." Emma wasn't really in the mood for an emotional talk. Their lives were always hectic, who knows what could happen to them next. She doesn't like to make promises she can't keep. She's had countless people break promises to her before, and Emma didn't want to become one of them.

"What your mother is trying to say is please just be more careful and try to avoid giving us a heart attack?" David always knew how to help Emma out and veer away from Snow's emotional conversations sometimes.

"Guys, I promise to be more careful. I'm sorry about this whole situation. I honestly didn't think it was that bad, but thank you for umm staying with me." Why was she so bad at this? She's been calling them mom and dad for months now. She cried her eyes out when she had to lock them in the jail cells, but she could barely thank them for looking after her. For taking care of her unconditionally.

She felt her mother take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "We're always here for you, sweetheart."

"Thank you. It means a lot." Emma said in a small shy voice. A voice that gave Snow and Charming an insight on how their little girl would have been had she grown up with them. The couple exchanged a look over their daughter and decided to end the conversation for now.

When they finally pulled up to the apartment Emma perked up a bit. She was so happy to finally be out of the hospital and back home. Yeah she was only there for a couple of days, but it was a couple days too long in her eyes. Her father parked the car and immediately got out and walked quickly to the other side. He opened the door and gave Snow a hand getting out of the truck. Next he slowly helped Emma scoot over and gently step down from the cab of the truck. Once he trusted her to walk on her own two feet, the parents escorted their daughter through the door of the building.

Going up the stairs was a bit of a struggle. Charming wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulders to give her some support up the stairs, while Snow locked elbows with her daughter and guided her up the three flights of stairs.

"You had to pick the top floor." Emma whined as this trek was really taking a lot out of her.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I didn't really have a choice when it came to where I was going to live. Since it was Regina's curse I'm lucky I got anything at all." Snow said matter-of-factly.

"We're almost there, Em. Look on the bright side, we still have a couple of gifts you didn't get to open yet from the other night!" David said, giving her shoulder am encouraging squeeze.

"Really? There's more? You guys really didn't-"

"Yes we did. We wanted to give you so much for all the years we missed. None of this will make up for the lost time, but it's rightfully yours." Snow interrupted.

The small group finally made it to the top of the landing and Emma let out a breath of relief. "Well, finally. You guys were slowing me down." Before either o her parents could protest she gave them a wink and laughed a little. The door swung open to reveal a banner that read 'Welcome home Emma!' and there were a couple of Mylar balloons that said 'Get well soon'.

"You guys are cheesy. But thank you, this is sweet." Emma said as she gave each of her parents a hug before entering the apartment.

"Mom! How are you feeling?" Henry said as he ran towards Emma to give her a hug.

"I'm feeling much better, kid. Thank you for this." She ruffled his hair a bit before moving over to her pirate.

"Hello, love. Welcome home." He gave her a hug along with a small kiss to her cheek. Emma just smiled, she love having people in her life now.

"Killain, bring her to the couch please." Snow called from her room.

"Sure, milady. Come on Swan." Killian snaked an arm around her waist, careful of her incision, and lead her to the couch.

"Alright, Emma, one last gift for you. Happy birthday, honey!" snow and David came walking over to her carrying a large box.

"Guys come on. You don't need to do this. We just got back." Emma tried to protest, but she was pretty excited to see what else they got her.

"Nonsense, just open it." Her smile was contagious.

"Okay, whatever you say." Emma tore into the neatly wrapped box and opened the package. When her eyes met the gift inside they began to water. She looked up to her parents whose eyes were also glistening. "Mom, dad. What on earth?"


	9. Chapter 9

Emma just had this bewildered expression on her face as she looked from the gift in her hands up to her parents. "I'm…is this?...ummm, you shouldn't..." Emma was stammering over every word that was coming out of her mouth.

"It's yours. As it should have been a lot sooner, honey." Snow said with a loving expression on her face.

"So, what do you think, Emma?" David had his hand on the back of his wife and was gently rubbing it.

"Oh, this is very lovely but I don't think I'm the right person for it." Emma had a hint of panic in her eyes and in her voice. She, very delicately, grasped the gift in the box and brought it up to the light. The jewels sparkled from the sunlight coming in from the window behind her. It was a silver tiara with diamonds encrusted in it.

"Emma, this belongs to you. It was my mother's, it was then passed down to me after she, you know. It's about time I got the chance to give it to you." Snow's eyes were glistening as she was telling her daughter the lineage of the royal tiara.

"I'm not really princess material, but thank you. This is absolutely beautiful." Emma was incredibly stunned at the jeweled crown she was holding in her hands. There was no way this now belonged to her. She was still waiting for the day she would wake up and Storybrooke would all just be a dream.

"Do you want to try it on?" Charming asked nervously, not wanting to push her too hard. He has been waiting so long to see her wear her mother's tiara he can't wait another second.

"Right now?" Emma looked down at her grey v-neck and black sweatpants. This was no outfit to try a tiara on. Plus her hair was in such a messy bun she had little whips every which way.

"Please, just really quickly?" Her father looked at her with a hint of pleading in his eyes. She realized how badly he wanted to see the tiara on her.

"Oh alright. Would you mind helping me?" She asked her mother, knowing what the answer would be. Her assumption was proven right when her mother just nodded her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. Snow approached her daughter and slowly took the tiara out of her hands and gently placed it on top of her daughters head. Something that should have happened at age 13, not 30. At this point, Snow didn't dare complain. "This is kinda heavy." Emma exclaimed from her pot on the couch. Her parents were staring at her with such love and adoration in their eyes, it was overwhelming.

"Aww, mom. Look at you." Henry giggled from his spot on the floor.

"Well, well, well, Princess Leia, it's good to see you again." Hook commented from the one side of Emma.

She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Shut it, Charles." A small smile graced her face at the memory of her and Killian at the ball. She had worn an exquisite red gown with a jeweled headband laying properly in her hair. Emma began to look uncomfortable at all the attention being thrown her way and her father caught on quickly.

"Why don't we go put this up in your room and you can take a nice hot shower, Em?" He offered her a loving smile along with his hand to help her up.

"I like the sound of that idea, thanks." She gratefully took his hand and waddled her way over to the bathroom.

"If you need any help just let me know." Snow called out from the living room. Emma gave her an embarrassed look over her shoulder and continued on into the bathroom.

"Alright, well I guess I better go pick up her prescription and some soup from Granny's." David had just made it back downstairs and was getting ready to go grab his coat.

"Why don't you let the lad and I do that while you relax a little. You yourself just got back as well. Henry and I can handle this, right?" Killian looked over at Henry who was getting up off the floor with a smile on his face.

"You two don't have to. I'll be quick." David said.

"Nonsense, take a breather before Swan becomes a handful." The pirate winked.

"You're right. Thank you very much, Killian." David said sincerely.

"Yeah, we can call it operation cheetah!" The boy said with excitement.

"Cheetah?" David questioned.

"Yeah, we'll be back as soon as possible." Henry stated in an obvious tone. "Bye Grams, bye Gramps!" And just like that Henry and Killian were out the front door.

"Well that was very nice of them." Snow stated as she was walking over to her husband holding their son passing him off to Charming while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah it was. Hi buddy! Sorry I wasn't around the past couple of days. Your big sister got sick, but she'll be okay soon." Neal gurgled in his father's arms and kicked his little feet.

"Why do I have a feeling that she is going to be more work than him?" Snow said in an amused tone as the three of them settled on the couch together.

"Because first born children are always difficult." David chuckled. He was holding his son in one arm and wrapped his other arm around his wife's shoulders. For just a moment everything was quiet.

**OUAT**

Emma emerged from the bathroom feeling a little bit better. Her side was still incredibly sore and her head was fuzzy, but at least she had that hospital grime off of her body. Emma was slowly making her way over to the refrigerator to get a drink when her mother stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Her motherly concern was very evident in her voice. Snow got up from the couch where her husband and youngest child were and made her way over to Emma.

"Getting a drink..? Is that illegal or something?" Emma didn't want this incessant hovering to start already.

"Don't talk to me in that tone of voice young lady." Snow chided. Emma gulped at the sternness in her mother's voice. "Emma, go join your father and brother on the couch. I'll get you something to drink and a snack while we wait for the boys to get back with your medicine, okay?" Snow's voice took on a gentler sound while she rubbed her daughter's upper arm affectionately.

"I'm not an invalid, I can get my own drink." Emma didn't like relying on people to do things for her, she wasn't the dependent type.

Emma saw her mother giving her a knowing smile, "for the time being you are, sweetheart. Go rest on the couch please." And just like that Emma was being pushed in the direction of the couch.

Considering she had an incision on her side and she was loopy from the hospital medication still, Emma's walk resembled that of a baby duckling. Her father caught onto this very quickly as she was making her way over to the couch.

"Well there's my little duckling!" He teased.

Emma turned around to her mother to see her stifling a laugh as she brought her attention back to her father, pointing a finger to herself. "Are you talking to me?" She asked in a confused manner.

"Yes, I'm talking to you. Who else would I call a duckling?" David said matter-of-factly.

"Why the hell are you calling me a duckling?" Emma didn't seem to have the patience for this conversation as she continued to stand there.

"LANGUAGE!" Her mother reprimanded from her place in the kitchen. Emma just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Because, my darling daughter, you're walking like a little duckling. Plus it goes with your last name" David finished with a wink.

"You're going to tease me because my recent surgery is making me waddle?" David looked at her with his signature charming smile and nodded his head. Emma turned her attention to her mother with her arms folded over her chest, and her left hip cocked out with attitude, "and you're going to let him make fun of your poor, sick, defenseless daughter?"

"What happened to the 'I'm not an invalid' speech you just gave me?" Snow raised an eyebrow at her only daughter and put a hand on her hip, daring her to keep going.

"I'm not…..he's just….ugh! My head is too fuzzy to do this right now!" Emma exclaimed dramatically. Her father scooted over on the couch and patted the cushion next to him, indicating she should probably sit down.

Emma obliged and grabbed the remote from the coffee table in front of her. She turned on the television and an episode of _Law and Order: SVU_ was on, as always. She just needed to relax. Emma felt her father put his arm around her shoulders and pull her into his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and not long after he planted a kiss on her hair. Content to finally being back at home, Emma's eyes began to flutter closed. Every so often she would jerk them open, but her father's hand rubbing her upper arm made them close again. Soon she was drifting off to sleep.

**OUAT**

She could hear quiet voices whispering in the distance. The smell of chicken noodle soup wafted through her nose. She pulled the blanket further up her face. Wait, blanket? Last thing she remembers is watching TV curled up next to her father. She opened her eyes and realized that she was now laying down on the couch. When did that happen? She saw her family gathered around the island in the kitchen. Henry and Killian had returned home from running errands and were now sitting on the stools participating in the small talk. She went to go sit up but the pain in her side told her that was a bad idea. She groaned and slammed back down on the couch.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Her father made it over to her first and helped her sit up on the couch.

"Just fine." Emma said as she smoothed some of her hair down on her head.

"Want me to bring you over some soup?" Her mother asked. Already preparing a bowl for someone to eat.

"Yeah, I am getting kind of hungry actually." Emma still seemed pretty sleepy to her father so he stayed by her side as she tried to stand up.

"Oh no, honey. Stay on the couch, I'll bring it over to you." Snow rushed to fill the bowl with soup and bring it over to her daughter.

"Can I please sit at the table for a bit? I won't feel as useless there." She grumbled.

"Are you sure?" Her mother was cautious as she met her daughter at the kitchen table. Snow raised her hand to her daughter's forehead to check her temperature.

"Yes I'm sure. It won't kill me to move around a little." Emma slowly waddled her way over to the kitchen island where her son and boyfriend were sitting.

"Hey gramps, you were right, she does waddle like a duck!" Henry exclaimed from his seat. Emma turned a deadly glare onto her father who was following behind her ready to catch her if needed. The color drained from David's face when he saw his daughter whip around her head.

"Well it's true. It's just so cute!" David proceeded to dig his grave a little bit deeper and pinch his daughter's cheek's as they took on a pink shade. Emma immediately swatted away her father's hand and narrowed her eyes.

"Aww, lighten up Swan. We're just kidding. Plus, I'd say you waddle more like a swan than a duck." A wink of those bright blue eyes and a raise of his eyebrow made the smallest of smiles grace Emma's face.

"Hey mom, does that make you the Swan Princess?" Henry innocently asked.

"Well considering I've never been turned into an actual swan, I'm going to go with no. Nice try, kid." Emma said as her mother handed her a bowl of chicken soup.

Killian leaned over to Emma and very faintly whispered in her ear, "don't worry Swan, you'll always be my princess."

"You're too kind," she quickly quipped back at him before returning her attention back to her soup.

"Emma, I want you to eat as much of this as you can and then take your medicine, got it?" Snow looked expectantly at her daughter.

"Yeah, yeah I got it. Thank you, mom." Snow planted a small kiss on top of her daughter's head before joining her husband to finish the dishes.

"So mom, what movie should we watch today?" Henry asked with a hopeful grin on his face.

"Who says we're going to be watching a movie, kid?" Emma scooped a spoonful of chicken noodle soup out of her bowl, giving her son an amused glance.

"Well, you're sick, we always had movie days in New York when one of us was sick."

"First of all, I'm not sick. So let's everybody get that clear. Not sick. Secondly, that living room is not big enough for all of us to comfortably sit around and watch a movie." Plus her parents technically grounded her, not that she wanted to admit that out lout, so was she even allowed to watch TV? Wait a minute, of course she was she's an adult.

"I think a movie would be a lovely idea, Henry. Why don't you go pick one out for us to watch?" Snow suggested from her spot at the sink. Emma looked up from her bowl of soup with a questioning gleam to her eyes. Her mother was up to something, and if Emma had to guess it probably had to do with the fact that she wanted Emma to not do anything today. Spending the rest of the day on the couch would be good for her.

Snow wiped her hands on the dish towel and made her way over to the table where her daughter and Killian were seated. "I'd like it if you ate a bit more of your soup before I give you your medicine, Emma."

Emma was very close to snapping on her mother. It hadn't even been close to a full day home and Emma could not stand the over parenting happening, but deep down she knew it was out of a place of love. She took a breath and continued to eat her soup, even though she wanted more than anything to be laying down. Her head was becoming heavy again and she knew the pain medication would knock her on her ass soon after she took it.

After a few more spoonfuls of soup, and Snow deemed Emma done eating, both pain medication and antibiotics were taken. Killian helped Emma over to the couch where her father had already set her up a spot with a pillow and blanket in the corner. Everyone else got settle around her, either in a chair or on the couch with her. Henry proudly help out the DVD for _Back to the Future_ and Emma couldn't help but smile.

"I think you'll find this movie rather entertaining," Emma whispered to Killian, who was seated on the couch next to her.

"And why's that, love?"

"Just wait and see."

* * *

A/N: Hey everybody. Extremely sorry for the wait. College is kind of getting in the way of fun activities, but no worries I'm not giving up on this story. I have a couple of directions on where I can take this but I'm not entirely sure yet. If you have any suggestions I'm open to any and all of them. Lastly, thank you for all of the follows and favorites. It makes my day to get those emails, just like I'm sure it makes your day to get story updates! Hope you enjoyed and I'll try very hard to get the net chapter out soon. Thank you for being patient. P.S DARK SWAN IS AMAZING! AM I RIGHT?!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: My deepest apologies for taking so long on updating. I know exactly what it feels like because all I do is wait for that faithful e-mail from . I promised myself when I started this story I wouldn't be one of those authors who took forever to update. I realized life can take over and inspiration can come and go. I'm so sorry for taking so long. Luckily this story doesn't have much more to it so I'll be wrapping it up shortly. Thank you so much to all of you who have followed, faved, or review this story. It means the world to me and it makes me feel that much worse that I'm taking forever to update. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. As you can figure out I quite enjoy the Emma and David interactions. Happy almost 5B premiere time! You guys are the best!**

* * *

It had been roughly two weeks since Emma came home from the hospital. Two weeks of constant hovering from both of her parents. Killian on the other hand, got quite the laugh just sitting back and watching the family argue over various things concerning Emma's health. This morning featured an especially loud argument between the royal family. It all started when Emma came down that morning dressed and ready for work.

"Well someone's dressed nicely today," Snow observed from her spot in the kitchen. She and David were making breakfast for the family while Killian sat at the island, cup of coffee already in hand. It was his morning to work at the station while Snow was back to work at the school and David was on Emma duty. The three adults worked out a nice schedule so someone was always with Emma during her recovery period.

"Yeah well I can't show up at the station with my sweats on, that's unprofessional even if I'm the sheriff." Emma gave a small chuckle at her mother's comment.

"Umm, sweetie? Why would you be going to the station?" Snow questioned, turning a concerned look towards her daughter.

"I'm going back to work today…" Emma said in an assuming type of tone. Clearly she was going back to work today. They went and saw Dr. Whale yesterday when Emma got her stitches out.

"Emma, you just got your stitches out yesterday. You're not fully cleared for work yet." David cut in, cautiously.

"Yes I am. Whale said my incision looked great and there were no lingering problems. Sounds pretty cleared to me." Emma crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her right hip out.

"No you aren't. You're going to take it easy for a couple of days then go back to work next week like we agreed." Snow copied her daughter's stance while adding a motherly tone to her statement.

"No it's what you two agreed! I never agreed to any of it!" Emma was beginning to raise her voice out of frustration.

"Emma just calm down." David tried reasoning with his daughter's growing hysterics.

"No I will not calm down. UGHH! I'm sick of sitting in this little apartment all day. I'M GOING INSANE IN HERE!" She clenched her hands into fists and a small white glow was beginning to seep from them.

"Love, just relax okay?" Killian noticed the glow and reached out a hand and gently placed it on her shoulder.

"Emma we realize this is frustrating for you, but just do as we say please." Snow tried a more calming tone towards her daughter but it didn't seem to help much.

"What gives you the right to say what I can and cannot do?" Emma knew it was a low blow, but she was so fed up with their over-protectiveness. She was fine!

"Being your PARENT gives me the right." Snow gained a hurt look to her eyes after Emma's previous statement.

"You're overreacting! FOR THE LAST TIME I'M FINE!" The white glow brightened around her hands.

"NO YOU'RE NOT! Your side is still bothering you even though you absolutely REFUSE to take any more pain medication. You're still fatigued whether you want to admit it or not. And you just got your stitches out YESTERDAY! So it's decided, no work yet." Snow finished flipping the last pancake and made the spatula in her hand look very threatening.

"I'm an adult who can make her own decisions, thank you very much! And I've decided that I'm going back to work today. End of story." If her parent's ever wanted a glimpse as to what she would've been like as a teenager, this was pretty close.

"Lose the attitude, Emma. I'm your mother and I say that you're not going back to work yet. END. OF. DISCUSSION." Snow said with finality as she turned and went to her bedroom.

David could see heat rising to his daughter's cheeks, whether it be from anger or embarrassment he needed to do something quick. "Emma? Would you like to go outside and take a walk with me?" He approached her carefully and had a loving sound in his voice.

He could visibly see the white glow trickle back into her hands as she took a deep breath. "Yeah," she added quietly.

"Hook, I'll see you at the station when Snow's out of work. Call me if you need anything, and help yourself to some breakfast before you go." David said as he was getting his coat on.

Killian walked over to Emma and pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. "Have a good morning, Emma. I'll come by later. Just relax for today." She didn't verbally reply but she gave him a soft kiss on his lips and left with a little smile on her face.

She met her father at the door to the apartment, happy that he was giving her exactly what she needed at a time like this; some peace and quiet outside the apartment. She knew he'd want to talk to her later about her little outburst, but he always gave her time to calm down and think things through beforehand. She was grateful that her father knew her so well. Emma never imagined she'd have this in life.

As they walked down the main street towards the docks Emma thought about the countless times she wanted to give up looking for her parents. All the times in her life when she was alone and lost hope. There would never be enough words for her to thank Henry for bringing her here on her 28th birthday and setting her on this path. Granted she was destined for this, if only it was a few years earlier like at age 2 or something. Sadly, some things aren't meant to be.

Her father's interrupting cough brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present. "I know your mother can be a bit…over bearing, but please don't argue back. I know you just want to get back to your normal life," Emma began to laugh out loud which surprised her pleading father.

"Normal life? Just a couple of weeks ago I had to defeat my old foster mother, who at one point wanted to adopt me because I have magic, and who also turned out to be a snow queen of sorts. Now, what in that sentence was normal?" Emma finished bumping into her father's shoulder. A small sign of affection she never thought she'd do.

"Okay, okay you're right. Normal was the wrong word to use around here. But please just lay off arguing with your mother, you know how stubborn she is. And how stubborn you are," he mumbled the last sentence to himself.

"I just can't take spending another weekend cooped up in that apartment, dad. I'm going insane. It's not fair!" Her complaining was very close to sounding like a whining child, which didn't go unnoticed by her father.

"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" David chuckled, already giving himself a point for that one. The pair made it to the docks and took a seat on the nearest bench.

"I'm glad you're catching up with all the lame dad jokes. It's great." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm and David saw her roll her eyes with an audible huff. "I'm serious though. You guys would have been major hover parents with me. Poor baby bro," she teasingly shook her head as if feeling sorry for her little brother.

"We're just looking out for you, kiddo. And by the way, your mother hovers, I'm the cool and calm parent." The wink David gave her made her roll her eyes.

"Says the man who would walk next to me around the house constantly." Emma scoffed.

"The medicine made you dizzy. You could've walked into stuff or lost your balance at any point." David said matter-of-factly.

"I think I can manage walking around the apartment by myself." At this point their conversation hit a quiet spot. Emma's gaze was lost among the small ocean waves and David was alternating between watching his daughter and watching the sea water crash upon the shore. He knew she was taking a moment and relishing in the fact she wasn't sitting on the couch in the apartment watching mindless television. David needed to do something to cheer up his daughter and he had just the idea.

"How about we walk around for a little bit more, grab some food at Granny's then we can do whatever you want for the afternoon?" David suggested.

"Whatever I want, huh? You sure about that?" Emma asked skeptically.

"Yes, I'm sure. Whatever your heart desires. Within reason!" He added.

"Okay, deal. Let's walk!" Emma said with more excitement than David had seen from her in a while.

The pair made their way through the streets of Storybrooke, relishing in the fact that they weren't patrolling or on the lookout for their next villain. When they made it to the main street Emma commented on the fact that she had never been in any of the local shops, besides Gold's of course. So David took his daughter through most of the stores that lined the main street of Storybrooke, appreciating the simplicity and normalness of their afternoon. They ventured into a homemade chocolate store and David couldn't resist getting his only daughter whatever she wanted.

A few pounds of chocolate later, the father-daughter duo meandered over to their favorite lunch spot for a quick bite to eat. Walking up to the front patio area, Emma's eyes wandered over to the spot on the curb where she had passed out just a few short weeks back. She could tell her father was doing the same thing when she heard him let out a long sigh. She felt awful for putting her parents through that. She couldn't even imagine finding Henry in the same situation she was in. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she felt her father place his hand on the small of her back and lead her into Granny's.

As soon as the pair walked in they were greeted with big smiles from both Ruby and Granny who were perched behind the counter. "Emma! So good to see you out and about. How are you feeling?" Ruby asked, making her way over to give Emma a hug.

"I'm good." Emma said as she returned the hug.

"Are you back at work already?" The brunette eyed the girl suspiciously.

Heaving a big sigh, Emma replied, "No, not yet." Ruby began laughing immediately at her statement. Emma became annoyed because she did not find this funny at all.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing. It's just that I can imagine Snow doing everything in her power to keep you at home throughout all of this. No offense David." Ruby playfully punched David in his arm.

"None taken. And to be fair, _someone_ isn't officially cleared to return to work yet." David said carefully. He didn't want to bring back the emotions from this morning.

" _Someone_ is perfectly fine." Emma grumbled under her breath. Her father heard it and placed a loving hand on her shoulder and guided her to a booth. Ruby followed them with two menus. Although she didn't know why, the Charming's tended to order the same thing every time they came in the diner.

"So do you guys know what you want?" Ruby asked taking out her pad of paper and a pen.

"I'll have the usual." David said without even glancing at the menu.

"Let me guess, the usual for you as well?" Ruby asked.

"Actually, can I have a burger and fries today?"

"Wow. No grilled cheese or onion rings?" Ruby was shocked.

"Not today." Emma laughed.

"Okay, coming right up."

Emma and David ate their lunch peacefully while exchanging some small talk. David filled Emma in on all that was going on at the station, which to be honest wasn't a lot. Emma talked about how she couldn't wait for her little brother to start talking so they could cause some mischief. It warmed David's heart to hear about Emma interacting with her brother. After all this time they were finally a real family.

David payed the bill the proceeded to escort his daughter out of the diner and back to the apartment. Emma's mood saddened when she made it back into the tiny apartment. She slipped out of her boots and jacket and made her way over to the couch per usual. David could tell his daughter was still pretty upset about the fight that occurred this morning. He needed to keep her mood up, especially since he knew Snow would be in the same sour mood when she eventually gets home. An idea came to his mind on what they could do to pass some time.

"Emma could you stand up for me please?" David asked standing in front of the couch she was sitting on.

"Uhh, what's going on?" Emma skeptically questioned.

"Just do as I say, Em."

"Alright fine." Emma proceeded to stand up awkwardly, unknowing of where her father was going with this. "Now what?"

"Can you raise your hands above your head please?" Emma did as she was told. "Good, now bring your arms down and twist to the left." Emma gave her father a very curious look.

"Didn't I do all of this yesterday?"

"And now twist to the right." Her father continued.

"Why am I doing this?"

"Do you feel any pain or discomfort in those movements?" David ignored her questions.

"No, but your lack of acknowledgement to my questions is giving me discomfort."

"Good!" And with that David took off into his bedroom leaving Emma alone and confused in the living room.

"What the hell is he doing?" Emma questioned aloud. Her question was soon answered when her father returned to the living room carrying Henry's wooden swords. "You can't be serious?"

"What, you don't want to learn a few things from your old man?"

"She's going to kill us, especially you." Emma replied with trepidation in her voice.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Like you said those movements don't cause you pain and we aren't going all out with this. Just some friendly sparring between father and daughter."

"If you're sure." Emma said, taking one of the wooden swords from his hands.

"I'm sure. We need to get you ready to use your actual sword." David winked at his daughter earning him one of the prettiest smiles he's ever seen. It never ceased to amaze him on how much his daughter took after his wife, although Snow would argue Emma gets her smile from him.

The two playfully sparred around the living room after moving the coffee table out of the way. Every so often David would stop their fight and show Emma the proper way to strike or block or just praise her on her natural ability. Emma was taken back at how proudly her father was looking at her. She wondered how long he has been waiting for a moment like this. Oh wait, she did know. Thirty years.

With all the fun David and Emma were having sword fighting with one another, they had lost track of time. Emma was about to strike her father in a weak spot when her mother burst through the door. The expression "they looked like a deer caught in the headlights" doesn't begin to cover how startled the two of them looked.

Snow's eyes went wide as she very loudly asked "What on earth is going on here?" Her fists were clenched similarly to how her daughters were that morning.

"Mom! What are you doing home so soon?" Emma recovered as her father stood behind her, absolutely speechless.

"In case you didn't know, my daughter recently had surgery and I've been coming home immediately after school every day to take care of her." It astounded Emma how sarcastic and angry her sweet mother could sound sometimes. "Charming what the hell were you thinking? Sword fighting, really?"

"It's my fault!" Emma spoke up. David gave his daughter a confused look as she carried on. "I made a deal with dad that if we did this for a little bit I wouldn't complain about going back to work until I am fully cleared by Whale."

David was in awe by his daughter. While none of that was remotely true she now had to abide by what she said. Why she would do that, David wasn't sure of. Before Snow could say anything else Emma opened her mouth again.

"Well I'm pretty tired so I'm going to take a nap. Don't want to overdo anything. Wake me when dinner is ready!" Emma placed her sword back in her father's hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "thank you for today." The statement was simple but held a lot of weight to it.

She took off up the stairs while her parents gave a confused look at the stairs to the loft. "What just happened?" Snow asked, turning towards her husband.

"I'm not too sure, but you heard what she said about no more complaining. Do you really want to question her?" David said making his way over to his wife to give her a kiss.

"You're so lucky, Charming." Snow lightly tapped his cheek before kissing his lips.


End file.
